‘Idiot’ teen driver sentenced after Bristol car crash left boy, 4, seriously injured
An 18-year-old who crashed his car into a bus stop and seriously injured a four-year-old was sentenced to two years and two months in a young offenders institute.
James Doherty, 18, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on Friday for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Judge Peter Blair described the teenager as an “idiot” whose “terrible driving” had led to the incident.
He was also banned from driving for four years and one month.
The court heard the teenager had arrived in England with his pregnant wife a week before the incident, had no driving licence or insurance, and purchased a BMW vehicle which had under-inflated rear tyres.
At around 2pm on 17 November, Doherty drove around a corner in the Lawrence Weston area of Bristol too fast and crashed straight into a bus stop.
A four-year-old boy who was waiting with his father and stepmother was left trapped under the vehicle, but Doherty and his wife, who was a passenger in the car, ran off from the scene.
The moment before the car crashed into the bus stop. Pic: Avon and Somerset Police
Later that day, Doherty handed himself in at a local police station. He then pleaded guilty at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 19 November.
During sentencing, Judge Blair said: “When you came round that corner, the rear of the vehicle that you had just acquired swung out.
“You countered that in an inappropriate way, which had you swinging the car right back across the road where there was a bus stop.”
The court also heard that when the victim’s stepmother asked Doherty’s wife for help to lift the car off him, she replied, “no”.
“That was extraordinarily culpable and utterly cowardly, for which you should rightly feel incredible shame,” the judge added, before explaining how the boy could have died from his injuries.
“He, in fact, has survived but he has suffered terribly in terms of pain through the treatment and the therapy that is going to be required for him for years.”
James Doherty and his wife fleeing the crash site. Pic: Avon and Somerset Police
Prosecuting, Kaj Scarsbrook said the boy had injuries including collapsed lungs, a fractured pelvis, fractured ribs and a spinal fracture. His stepmother also sustained injuries to her leg.
The boy’s father told the court the incident’s effect on the family has been “indescribable”, and said he and the woman injured in the crash have experienced distressing flashbacks.
His stepfather also said in court: “This tragedy has affected our entire family. Emotionally, we are broken watching our child suffer every day.”
Doherty and his wife are expecting a baby, which is due to be born in April.
Read more:
Grenfell fire families sent letter about unidentified remains
Judges involved in Sara Sharif family court proceedings named
Speaking after the case, Avon and Somerset Police’s senior collision investigator David Paniccia-Brown said “we feared the boy would not survive” the collision, but “fortunately he has pulled through”.
She added: “We want to thank the family for the dignity and composure they have shown throughout this upsetting case, the pain of which both mentally and physically will not end with any court sentence.”
The officer also thanked members of the public who helped free the boy from the vehicle, saying: “It was a hugely distressing scene but they showed kindness and selflessness in a time of crisis and that should be recognised.”
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
Sky’s Beth Rigby running marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform
Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway