An ‘immature’ driver left two women seriously injured after the BMW he was driving clipped a curb and rolled across the road. A judge said he was “showing off” and was driving recklessly in order to “look big”.
Harrison Morris, 22, was driving through Cwmbran in a BMW One series car which did not belong to him, when he saw Josie Pattimore and Kayleigh Dowding standing outside a pub. The two women were known to him and he offered to let them sit in the car while they waited for a friend.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard one of the women asked for a phone charger and the defendant drove to his house with them in the car in order to get one. He was neither insured nor had a licence.
As he drove back towards Cwmbran, Morris approached the Bevan’s Lane roundabout and attempted to overtake another car. He was driving at speed and lost control of the vehicle, which caused him to clip the curb and resulted in the car repeatedly rolling. Ms Pattimore and Ms Dowding were thrown about the back of the car.
When the vehicle came to a stop, Ms Dowding was hanging out of the car and was unconscious. Ms Pattimore thought her friend was dead. Morris fled from the scene of the crash before the emergency services arrived and cut Ms Dowding from the wreckage. There was also fluid coming from the car, which led to concerns of a potential explosion.
As a result of the collision, Ms Pattimore suffered multiple jaw fractures, nerve damage to her mouth, bruising and swelling on the side of her face, and a torn rotator cuff. She couldn’t open her mouth properly and underwent emergency surgery to insert three metal plates. The court heard she was a promising martial arts athlete who was due to compete at the world championship level but is now unable to due to her injuries.
Ms Dowding suffered a number of rib fractures, three spinal fractures, a lacerated spleen, a kidney injury and a partially collapsed lung. Sentencing, Judge Lucy Crowther said, “Both of them are still struggling with the long-term effects of your actions.”
The defendant, Morris, spoke to the owner of the BMW and told them about the incident. He was driven back to the scene and was arrested. Morris, of Oaklands Road, Sebastopol, Pontypool, later pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by careless driving.
Addressing Morris, Judge Crowther said: “What you were doing that night was to show off to the young women in the back of the car and you were desperate for their attention. You wanted to drive around in a BMW because you wanted to feel big. That shows your level of maturity.”
She noted the defendant helped care for his extremely ill mother and is due to become a father shortly. Morris was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He was also disqualified from driving for 13 months.