A driver has been sentenced after fleeing a 'head on' horror smash that left a taxi driver trapped in his car with serious injuries.
Stephen Andrews, 41, was driving 'at speed' down Preston Road when he overtook a slower car on Sunday December 15, 2019.
As he overtook, he collided 'head on' with a Coopers Taxi, say police.
Andrews ran away from the scene of the smash, leaving the taxi driver - the father of a newborn baby - trapped in his car with serious injuries.
The taxi was completely crushed and its front-end wrecked in the crash.
Andrews, of Pepper Lane, Standish, has now been sentenced for causing serious injury by dangerous driving and failing to stop at a road accident.
He received a 16 month sentence, suspended for two years, 250 hours unpaid work, and was ordered to pay £10,000 to his victim - who is 'still an outpatient receiving treatment', according to police.
The fee was one of the highest payments one police officer has seen awarded to a crash victim.
In a tweet, Greater Manchester Traffic Police said: "I had to read the committal sheet twice myself!!!
"It has to be paid in full within six months which will come in handy for the victim who hasn't been able to work since the incident.
"It's certainly one of the highest awards I've ever seen which puts the victim first."
The force added: "How do you expect the victim to look after his family and new born child when he is unable to work due to his injuries. This money will go some way to ease that."
Andrews has also been disqualified from driving for two years.
