A DANGEROUS driver who seriously injured his passenger while he was more than 12 times the legal drug drive limit has been jailed.
James Ian Christopher, 36, had been driving at 70mph on Oakridge Road, a 30mph zone, when he collided with a traffic island on February 28, last year.
The impact of the crash caused the Vauxhall Astra Christopher was driving to overturn. He and passenger Luke Briggs were “ejected” from the vehicle. Mr Briggs suffered a variety of injuries including serious head trauma.
The father-of-four, of Pear Tree Way, previously denied charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury and driving under the influence of drugs. He was due to stand trial at Winchester Crown Court this morning (April 25) but instead entered guilty pleas.
Stuart Ellacott, prosecuting, told the court how, in the early evening, Christopher was driving at approximately 70mph, when the limit was 30mph. Another driver on the road described having to take the route slowly due to glare from the sunset. They said they saw Christopher “shooting past” them, overtaking and then remaining on the wrong side of the road.
READ MORE: James Ian Christopher allegedly crashed car in Oakridge Road
Mr Ellacott said Christopher failed to slow down at a traffic calming measure, and then proceeded to collide with a traffic island, causing the car to overturn.
“Just prior to the catastrophe which was to occur, the car is captured on a house CCTV or doorbell camera travelling in the range of 70mph,” said Mr Ellacott.
“Both driver and passenger were ejected from the vehicle in the course of the collision, and the result for Mr Briggs was serious injury.”
Mr Briggs, 25, was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. He suffered a variety of injuries including serious head trauma, brain swelling, and several fractures and was in an induced coma until March 10.
In a victim statement, read in court, he said: “I get very frustrated that I was fit, healthy and happy before the collision. I felt I lost myself after, and didn’t know who I was. The effect of this collision is devastating. The trauma of the collision and how it happened will stay with me for life.”
Christopher was found to have 616 micrograms of a cocaine compound per litre of blood in his system - more than 12 times the legal limit of 50.
He also has a “reasonably lengthy record” of previous convictions, including for dangerous driving and drugs-related crimes.
Francisca Da Costa, defending, said: “[He has] a reasonably lengthy record, but not the worst record that this court has ever seen. It mostly stems from his lengthy addiction to drugs, very sadly.”
She continued: “His offending is neither sophisticated nor violent. If you were to speak to Mr Chistopher when he is not under the influence of drugs, he is a reasonable and pleasant man.”
Ms Da Costa added that her client pleaded guilty on the basis that Mr Briggs had grabbed the steering wheel of his car prior to the crash, but admits that his excessive speed was the main cause of the collision.
“Following the accident, Mr Christopher contacted his friend because he was very concerned about him. Mr Christopher wishes he could go back and never have driven on that night,” she said.
Sentencing Christopher to concurrent sentences of three years and one month in prison for causing injury by dangerous driving, and two months for driving under the influence of drugs, Recorder R Harris described the event as a “sustained period of extremely dangerous driving” which was “undisputedly the predominant cause of the accident”.
The judge also ordered that Christopher be disqualified for a period of three years, with a 19-month extension due to his custodial sentence. He must also sit an extended retest before being allowed to obtain a licence again.
Christopher is currently serving a nine-month custodial term for flytipping offences after he was sentenced at the same court earlier this month.
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