Silloth driver sentenced for causing head on crash that injured woman

Darren Read's Kia Niro car was almost entirely on the wrong side of the A596 as he drove into a tight bend between Thursby and Wigton, leaving the oncoming driver with no time to react. The 46-year-old defendant, of The Crofts, Silloth, was originally charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but the prosecution accepted his guilty plea to the less serious charge, causing serious injury by careless driving. At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Andrew Evans outlined the facts.

The woman who was injured was driving her Renault van along a 40mph stretch of the A596 at Micklethwaite when, as she rounded a right-hand bend, she encountered a black car heading directly towards her. She recalled that "the majority" of the car was on her side of the road. "With a house to her left, she had nowhere to turn to avoid a collision," said Mr Evans.

"She braked a little and collided head on with the car, blacking out and then awakening to find a woman trying to get into the van to get her out." Photographs showed that the defendant's side of the road was clearly marked with chevrons and double solid white lines. "It was this line that the defendant's car crossed as it failed to safely navigate the bend," continued Mr Evans. There were numerous warnings prior to the "almost 90-degree bend in the road," the court heard.

Mr Evans said: "Both vehicles suffered catastrophic front-end damage and appear beyond repair." The woman's van was shunted backwards into the wall of an outbuilding. Once removed from her vehicle, she was taken to The Cumberland Infirmary, where scans showed she had a fractured spine at the base of her neck.

She wore a neck brace for three months. The court then heard her victim statement. "I was always a confident driver before the accident, and I feel like I lost myself that day," she wrote. "I was an outgoing, happy, optimistic person and that has changed.

"My life changed on March 5, 2024, when I was faced with another car travelling at high speed, on my side of the road. It is such a bad stretch of road in which I know there have been numerous accidents.... "It has impacted me massively, both mentally and physically as I have suffered depression, anxiety, flashbacks, sweats, and sleepless nights."

She had sought professional help a psychologist to help her deal with the accident and needed months of physiotherapy. Now back at work, the woman added: "My life was turned up-side-down that day because of the other driver's actions, and I feel very lucky and blessed to still be here." Marion Weir, defending, said Read, a man of previous good character, had expressed genuine remorse and apologised for his actions.

"It's been a struggle for him to come to terms with the fact that he caused the injury and damage we can see in the photographs," said the barrister. Seriously injured himself, Read had limited recollection of the day. Due to the time he spent recovering from the accident, Read lost his job as a design engineer.

His background probation report had concluded he poses a low risk of reoffending, and he is now desperate to move on with his life. Judge Nicholas Barker told Read: "There is no proper explanation or excuse for why you drove in that manner; you say you have no memory, though you said to the policeman that you were transferring a soft drink into a water bottle. "But you don't accept that."

Describing the impact of the offence as "significant and substantial," Judge Barker said he also accepted that Read is remorseful. He imposed an 18-month community order with 180 hours of unpaid work and a 90-day curfew. This will run each day from 7pm to 5am.

"I am satisfied that this was a very bad piece of careless driving, but it was not dangerous," added the judge as he banned Read for 21 months.