A passenger was forced to have his legs amputated after being ejected from a car in a horror smash.
Buhus Sorin-Mihai, from Wigan, fled the country to escape justice and had to be extradited from Romania before being jailed at Bolton Crown Court today (November 11).
The 20-year-old was driving a blue Volkswagen Polo along Walkden Avenue in July last year when he overtook a line of traffic waiting at a red traffic light.
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Sorin-Mihai, of Barnsley Street, then went through the light and hit a Mercedes-Benz C220, which was driving through the junction.
Following the crash, the car which Sorin-Mihai was driving spun out of control before hitting into a second car - a white Vauxhall Astra, which had been waiting at the traffic lights.
As the car was spinning, a 32-year-old man - who was a passenger in Sorin-Mihai's car - was launched from the Polo and hit the traffic lights.
The impact caused serious injury and resulted in him having to have both of his legs amputated in hospital.
A 53-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman who had been in the Mercedes were also treated for minor whiplash.
As the investigation was ongoing, Sorin-Mihai fled to Romania and failed to appear at court in December 2020.
Greater Manchester Police officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit worked alongside the Romanian embassy and GMP's Project Advenus to obtain an extradition warrant.
It was executed and led to Sorin-Mihai being arrested in Romania in August 2021, before being extradited back to Manchester the following month to face court.
Today he was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court, having pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving without a license, and driving without insurance.
Sorin-Mihai will spend 28 months in a young offenders institution and has been disqualified from driving for four years, which will be extended by 14 months upon his release.
PC Adam Scott, of GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "Sorin-Mihai's reckless and careless actions resulted in a man losing his limbs, which will undoubtedly have a significant impact on him for the rest of his life.
"Sorin-Mihai is selfish and put innocent road users at extreme risk with his dangerous driving manoeuvres which ultimately could have resulted in a very grave outcome. He then tried to escape the consequences of his actions by fleeing to Romania.
"I hope today serves as a lesson that you cannot escape justice. This was a challenging investigation, but the Serious Collision Investigation Unit has been dedicated in following all leads and available avenues to ensure that Sorin-Mihai was not able to evade retribution."
