Andover driver disqualified from driving after careless overtake
Alistair Darmanin, of Sandringham House in Andover, was found guilty of driving without due care and attention at a Salisbury Magistrates Court trial on Thursday, June 29.
The court heard how the 53-year-old was driving home from a 12-hour shift along the A30 from Salisbury to Andover when he attempted an overtake at a junction and crashed into Tanya Peters’ VW Golf on August 24, 2022.
Dashcam footage captured by Samuel Foster showed Darmanin speed past a line of cars in his white Vauxhall Astra on the wrong side of the road before hitting Miss Peters, 24.
She was indicating to turn right into a junction and claimed she did not see Darmanin’s car in her wing mirror before turning into the other carriageway.
The A30, where the crash took place. (Image: Google Maps)
Upon impact, Darmanin’s car flipped, landing on its roof, and Miss Peters ended up on the bank at the side of the road.
Following the crash, which took place at around 5.30pm, Miss Peters was left with a neck injury which she told the court is still causing her pain today.
Darmanin, who had three points on his license for speeding in 2021, claimed he did not know the junction was there, a van blocked his vision of the warning sign and he was unaware Miss Peters was turning.
Miss Peters recalled how she could smell burning in the car after the crash and “managed to kick the door” to get out.
She had gashes on her arm and leg from where her driver-side door caved in.
While paramedics did not take Miss Peters straight to the hospital, she attended A&E one week after the crash and had to take two weeks off work due to the “excruciating pain” in her neck.
In a victim impact statement, Miss Peters told the court that she suffers from “frequent flashbacks” and that she still can’t do the things she loves, such as offroading, due to her injuries.
She said that she had just graduated after five years at university, adding: “I will never get back those important months. What was supposed to be one of the happiest times of my life has been affected by this. Over the past nine months, I have felt overwhelming emotions.
“It’s taken every ounce of strength. I’m still struggling with the pain I am in. This has been life-changing for me and I will never forget this event.”
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Darmanin, representing himself, argued: “Unless she has got a death wish she would not have pulled out in front of me. The collision was caused because she pulled out without using her mirrors.”
He told the court that this was his regular route home which he drives “every day” but that he does not know where every junction is located.
District Judge Stephen Aptid told Darmanin that he was travelling at an “excessive speed for the circumstances” and found him guilty of driving without due care and attention.
Darmanin was disqualified from driving for three months and must pay £1,298 to the court within six months.
References
- ^ Bemerton St John Church of England Primary keeps Good Ofsted rating (www.salisburyjournal.co.uk)
- ^ Rhesus macaque monkey twins arrive at Longleat, Wiltshire (www.salisburyjournal.co.uk)