A passenger was left disabled and with serious spinal injuries following a car crash in which the driver fled the scene as he didn't have a licence. The victim was left trapped and unconscious in the wreckage and had to be cut free.
Keanun Wilson, 26, left two of his passengers injured after crashing his red Volkswagen Polo on the A48 in Cardiff in the early hours of October 9 last year. He had met with work colleague Liam Curran earlier in the evening and had drunk a pint and a half of Coors when he offered to give Mr Curran a lift.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the pair met up with Jordan Ferrao, Stacey Loyns, and Paris Smith in the Black Lion in Llandaff and Wilson offered to give them a lift home as well. Mr Curran got into the front passenger seat while the other three sat in the back.
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Prosecutor Megan Jones said Ms Loyns described the Polo travelling faster than the speed limit. Mr Ferrao remembered seeing tail lights in front of them as they approached the Pentwyn roundabout before the defendant swerved into the other lane.
This caused Wilson to hit the kerb and the Polo spun 360 degrees before colliding with a road sign and hitting a barrier. The car ended up on its side with Mr Ferrao having to pull Ms Loyns and Ms Smith from the wreckage. Mr Curran was trapped under the dashboard and was unconscious.
Mr Ferrao described the Polo "smoking" and he thought it was going to catch fire. He said Wilson got out of the car and told him: "I've got to get out of here, I have got no licence" before running away towards Pentwyn Leisure Centre.
Ms Jones said: "Mr Curran had blood on his face and said he couldn't feel his legs. Mr Ferrao stood talking to him until the emergency services arrived." The police arrived at 1am and Mr Curran was cut free from the wreckage and taken to the University Hospital of Wales along with Ms Loyns who was suffering with pain in her neck.
As a result of the collision Mr Curran spent six weeks in hospital to receive treatment for two spinal fractures in his neck. He was unable to move the right side of his body and had emergency surgery on his neck, which required a bone to be removed and replaced with a bone in his hip. Ms Loyns spent a week in hospital after suffering spinal fractures, fractures to her ribs, and an injury to her spleen.
Wilson, of Limeslade Close, Fairwater, called police within 24 hours and admitted he was the driver responsible for the crash. He later pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop, and driving without a licence. The court heard he had six previous convictions including driving without insurance and a licence and he was disqualified for 12 months in 2020.
In a victim personal statement read out to the court Mr Curran said: "Since the accident I have suffered sleepless nights because of the pain I am in. I suffer with nightmares quite frequently but I don't remember the accident because I kept slipping in and out of consciousness. I remember waking up trapped and not being able to move. I have anxiety when travelling in a car and I forget things often.
"I suffered two spine fractures which left me disabled and my spine damaged. I was paralysed for a time and had complete bed rest for five weeks staring at the ceiling. I was soon walking again but my right side remains partly paralysed, my right mobility function is limited, and my right hand doesn't open or shut. I have to live with the pain for the rest of my life."
In her statement Ms Loyns said: "As a result of this incident I have been experiencing sudden and violent anxiety attacks which make me feel dizzy and light-headed and I have been prescribed anti-depressants. I have trouble sleeping and I don't go out often since the accident. I can't fully turn my head to the left and I have two displaced ribs which is painful. It's left me feeling isolated because of limited activities while the injuries are healing."
In mitigation Tim Petrides said his client felt "remorse, stupidness, foolishness, and responsibility" for what had happened. He said the defendant's father died when he was 15 years old and he had had a troubled childhood as well as issues with literacy and ADHD. The barrister said his client was "trying to do something with his life" in order to support his partner and young child.
Sentencing, Recorder Andrew Hammond said it was "discreditable" that Wilson had fled the scene as his passengers lay injured. The judge added: "You should not have been behind the wheel of a car that night."
Wilson and family members in the public gallery wept as he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and a woman shouted profanities as she left the courtroom. The defendant was also disqualified from driving for three years and six months.
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