‘Dangerous’ young driver who caused head-on smash in Loughborough is sentenced

The moment a young driver smashed into a vehicle while attempting to overtake on a blind bridge summit^[1] has been shown in court. Joshua Chappell illegally drifted right over the solid white line to overtake a car on the approach to the bridge when he struck an oncoming BMW, causing "substantial damage" to his car and the BMW.

Chappell, then 19, had been heading into Loughborough^[2] on the A60 Nottingham Road late at night when the crash happened in April 2023. It was not his only dangerous and illegal manoeuvre that night.

Just moments before impact, he had deliberately got into a right-turn-only lane to jump to the front of the queue at the traffic lights outside Loughborough Station. When the light turned green for traffic going straight, he ignored his red right and sped ahead of the other traffic before travelling on "at speed" into town.

After the crash with the BMW, the emergency services arrived and the police took Chappell's details before releasing him. He was due to attend an interview with Leicestershire Police^[4] but he did not bother to go, missing several appointments.

Not long after the crash, the teenager, of Whitwell Row, on Leicester's^[5] Saffron Lane Estate, got back behind the wheel and was caught drink-driving. When that case went to court in July 2023 he was given a fine and a driving ban. However, Chappell ignored the ban and in November 2023 was convicted of driving while disqualified and having no insurance, receiving a community order with unpaid work.

He found himself back in court once again after he breached the community order, resulting in it being extended.

It was only in January 2024 that - after his several missed interviews - the police went to Chappell's Leicester home to arrest him and then charge him with dangerous driving for the crash in April 2023. At Leicester Crown Court^[6] on Thursday (November 14) - the day before his 21st birthday - he appeared to be sentenced for dangerous driving, which he had pleaded guilty to.

Rebecca Barrowcliffe, representing Chappell, said that if the judge decided against sending her client to youth detention he would continue with his full-time job and college course. She gave the judge, Recorder Anna Tussler, letters from Chappell's mother, his sister and his former employer.

She said that after leaving school Chappell had started work as a mechanical and electrical engineer, which included days in college. While he had lost the job after the drink-driving conviction, he had continued as a self-employed mechanic with his former employer not only getting him work but also continuing to pay for his college course.

He said: "He supports his mother and his step-siblings, all of whom have their own difficulties. Mr Chappell is a bright young man and achieved good results at school. His employer is keen to retain him, should the sentence today not be one of immediate custody. He can see the error of his ways."

She said that although Chappell had not learned his lesson immediately and had continued offending, he now had a "new level of maturity" and was remorseful for causing the crash. She added there had been no further driving offences for more than 12 months.

She urged the judge to let him continue to earn money for his "heavily dependent" family and "continue with college, working hard around those family responsibilities". She added: "He's now growing up to be a good young man."

Recorder Trussler said she had read the letters written on Chappell's behalf and that he should thank the people who wrote them. She gave him a sentence of eight months' youth detention, suspended for 12 months^[7], and ordered him to do 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £150 court costs.

She said: "Your family rely on you significantly. You can thank your family for providing those letters to me. There's a realistic chance of rehabilitation. I hope you make the most of this."

Referring to CCTV footage of the crash, Recorder Trussler said: "The footage speaks for itself - the way you were travelling at speed on the wrong side of the road approaching a blind summit. It was clearly a dangerous piece of driving and it's fortunate for you and others that there weren't more serious consequences - I'm sure you've had time to reflect upon that.

"It was obvioulsy a highly dangerous manoeuvre and significant damage was caused."

References

1. ^{^} smashed into a vehicle while attempting to overtake on a blind bridge summit (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Loughborough (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Leicester DPD driver sexually assaulted five women in two-day crime spree (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Leicestershire Police (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Leicester's (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Leicester Crown Court (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
7. ^{^} eight months' youth detention, suspended for 12 months (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)