Flipping hell! Driver is jailed for three years after sending his car tumbling when he hit lamppost at 70mph while 12 times legal drug-driving limit
- Watch the moment a drugged-driver hits the curb at 70mph and flips the car
- James Christopher, 36, hit the kerb in Basingstoke, before flying out the vehicle
- His passenger also flew out of the car as it spun, causing a leg and skull fracture
- He was 12-times the legal drug-driving limit and was later jailed for three years
A video shows the shocking impact as a motorist veers into a lamppost before flipping the car over the pavement and hurtling on towards another parked car.
Driver James Christopher, 36, of Pear Tree Way, Basingstoke, slammed into the kerb at 70mph and sent the car into a spin. The limit was 30mph.
He was 12-times the legal drug-driving limit when he ploughed into the side of Oakridge Road, Basingstoke, on February 28th last year.
Both Christopher and passenger Luke Briggs flew out of the car as it rolled, according to the BBC, who reported that Briggs suffered life changing injuries, including a skull fracture and a broken leg.
The father of four, James Christopher, 36, of Pear Tree Way, Basingstoke, slammed into the kerb at 70mph and sent the car into a spin. The limit was 30mph
The car flips as it hits the curb, sending both Christopher and passenger Luke Briggs flying out of the car and causing ‘life changing injuries’ including a skull fracture and a broken leg
‘As you can see from the dashcam footage, he showed total disregard for the safety of anyone else on the roads, including his own friend in the passenger seat’, said investigating officer Det Con Mark Furse, according to the Basingstoke Gazette.
Christopher has been jailed for three years and one month at Winchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving while under the influence of drugs.
The court heard he had 616 micrograms of a cocaine compound per millilitres of blood in his system, more than 12 times the legal limit of 50.
While the UK has a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on drug driving, it sets legal drug-driving limits to cover accidental exposure, meaning they are extremely low.
Briggs was not wearing a seat-belt at the time of the crash, resulting in severe head trauma.
Christopher is currently serving a nine-month custodial term for flytipping offences after he was sentenced at the same court earlier this month. He has a record of previous convictions, including dangerous driving and drugs-related crimes
‘I get very frustrated that I was fit, healthy and happy before the collision,’ said Briggs in a victim statement. ‘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.’
Another driver slowed down when driving on the road because of the glare from the sun, and saw Christopher zooming past before the crash, the court heard.
The defending solicitor said the passenger, Briggs, had grabbed hold of the steering wheel before the crash, though Christopher plead guilty and admitted the speeding had been the primary cause of the crash.
‘His offending is neither sophisticated nor violent,’ said Francisca Da Costa, defending Christopher. ‘If you were to speak to Mr Chistopher when he is not under the influence of drugs, he is a reasonable and pleasant man.’
The judge ordered Christopher disqualified from driving for four years and seven months in total, extended because of a custodial sentence, after which he must 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.
He has a record of previous convictions, including dangerous driving and drugs-related crimes.
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