Moment foul-mouthed driver crashes into disabled woman motorist as he tries to overtake
- Hambley went to a voluntary police interview and accepted he drove ‘foolishly’
Published: 11:24, 30 November 2023 | Updated: 11:24, 30 November 2023
This is the shocking moment a foul-mouthed driver unleashed an angry tirade at a disabled woman as he blamed her for a crash, but his own dashcam proved he was in the wrong.
Raging Charles Hambley, 28, was driving his Mitsubishi in Cwmbran, Gwent, Wales, in September last year when claimed he was ‘cut up’ and gave ‘a prolonged beep of his horn.’
Cardiff Crown Court heard the female Citroen driver braked sharply as Hambley continued to sound his horn.
As the road began to merge from two lanes to one lane, Hambley ‘aggressively attempted to overtake the other driver and ignored keep left markings’.
Raging Charles Hambley, 28, was driving his Mitsubishi in Cwmbran, Gwent, Wales
As the road began to merge from two lanes to one lane, Hambley ‘aggressively attempted to overtake the other driver and ignored keep left markings’
He failed to overtake the Citroen driver on time and then ‘side-swiped’ her car in order to avoid a head-on collision with traffic travelling in the opposite direction.
Footage of the collision, taken from Hambley’s dashcam, was played to the court, and the defendant could be heard saying ‘F****** d***head’ and ‘F****** k***’ to the mother while her 13-year-old daughter was in the car.
The victim tried to call him to exchange insurance details but raging Hambley called 999 for police because he was so sure he was right.
He even handed over his dashcam to police but officers looked at the incriminating footage and instead, he was hauled to court for his bad driving where a judge called his overtaking ‘ridiculous’.
Hambley was even invited to a voluntary interview but after the dashcam footage had been viewed, he accepted he had driven ‘foolishly’ and was ‘very sorry’.
In a victim’s personal statement, the Citroen driver said: ‘I was left without a car and had to rely on taxis.
‘Me and my husband are disabled and depend on our car for medical appointments, it put pressure on me and my family and we missed appointments as a result.
‘My mother-in-law was in hospital and depended on me to take the things she needed.
‘It also impacted on what I was able to do with my children.
The victim tried to call him to exchange insurance details but raging Hambley called 999 for police because he was so sure he was right
Hambley was even invited to a voluntary interview but after the dashcam footage had been viewed, he accepted he had driven ‘foolishly’ and was ‘very sorry’
‘I sustained a whiplash injury, with pain to my right shoulder, neck and hip, and my mental health was affected.’
The court heard the victim had been left out of pocket by GBP5,500 as her car was a write-off.
Hambley, of Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.
In mitigation, Tabitha MacFarlane described her client as having an ‘autistic nature’.
She added: ‘He called the police himself and volunteered his dashcam. That tells you all you need to know about him.’
Recorder Simon Hughes said: ‘It was a manoeuvre which inevitably exposed your fellow road users to an extremely high level of danger.
‘You then telephoned the police and said that you were being pursued and indeed blamed the victim for this offence. That is an aggravating feature.
‘I also note that there were passengers in the other vehicle, not least children.’
Recorder Rees added: ‘A car is a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands.
‘You did this in a moment of a complete loss of control.
‘You overtook in a frankly ridiculous manner and got yourself involved in significant trouble attempting to cut back in and collided with her motor vehicle.’
He sentenced Hambley to 27 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years.
He also ordered him to carry out a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement, to pay compensation of GBP250 and was disqualified from driving.
References
- ^ Matt Drake (www.dailymail.co.uk)