A man whose reckless driving caused serious injuries to a couple on their way back from a trip to a steam fair has been spared jail.
Jonathan Brown, 51, from Northallerton, was driving a black Audi which overtook vehicles on the approach to a bend before ploughing into the side of a white van which was towing a caravan, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The crash occurred on the A684 near Ainderby Steeple on September 11 last year when Brown, who had a passenger in his car, pulled out of a line of traffic and overtook vehicles at speed, said prosecutor Kate Barnes.
The Audi then tailgated a lorry as the road changed from a 60mph to a 30mph zone and pulled back out into the path of oncoming traffic, crashing into a van driven by Harry Thompson who was on his way back from the Hunton Steam Gathering.
Mr Thompson, whose wife was in the front passenger seat, was driving into a right-hand bend when “a black car suddenly appeared on his side of the road”.
“(Mr Thompson) turned his steering wheel to the left but the car crashed into the driver’s-side door,” said Ms Barnes.
He and his wife had to be cut out of the vehicle by firefighters. They were taken to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough by ambulance after Mrs Thompson was placed on a spinal board.
Mr Thompson suffered a broken thumb and bruising and grazing to his knee after the driver’s door and dashboard crushed into him.
His wife suffered a broken hip and bruising to her arms.
Their van and the caravan were both write-offs. The caravan had been carrying a bespoke organ which was also damaged in the crush.
Ms Barnes said it would cost an estimated £70,000 to repair the organ.
Brown, of Crestbrooke, Northallerton, was arrested and charged with dangerous driving. He ultimately admitted the offence and appeared for sentence yesterday.
Ms Barnes said witnesses described Brown’s driving in the run-up to the crash as “reckless, dangerous and stupid”.
His dangerous driving consisted of two overtaking manouvers in busy traffic coming the other way.
In a statement read out in court, Mr Thompson said that when he saw the Audi coming towards them, he veered to the left towards a field which prevented a head-on crash but couldn’t prevent the car smashing into the side of his van.
He had since suffered flashbacks and still had pain in his knees.
He said the accident had left him “wary and nervous” out on the roads after driving for many years.
“I realise that I was very fortunate not to have received more severe injuries,” he added.
He said the incident had affected him mentally and the “shock” of the crash “still played on my mind”.
Mrs Thompson said she had difficulty sleeping and she too had flashbacks of the “black car hurtling towards us”.
She said her husband was “shaking like a leaf”, his breathing was laboured, and he was “as white as a sheet”.
“I thought he was going to have a heart attack,” she added.
“My left hip was badly bruised. I was in excruciating pain all night (and had) pain in my arm and shoulder.”
Mrs Thompson later discovered she had fractured her hip or pelvic bone and she now faced shoulder-replacement surgery this summer.
She said the realisation that the consequences of the accident could have been fatal “still brings tears to our eyes, knowing that it was only Harry’s expert driving and quick thinking that saved our lives”.
Defence barrister Cainan Lonsdale said that Brown, a father-of-one who worked as a lorry driver, had never been in trouble before and had been driving without incident for over 30 years, although he had six points on his license for speeding.
He had since lost his job as an HGV driver but had found new work on a zero-hours contract.
Judge Howard Crowson said although Brown’s driving was too fast and “risky” and had caused “substantial” danger to other motorists, his barrister’s strong submissions in mitigation had saved him from a prison sentence.
He told Brown: “I know you know that the consequences could have been a great deal worse. Someone who drives for a living ought to drive more carefully.”
Brown was given a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work.
He was banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay a £114 surcharge.
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