Crash leaves man with traumatic brain injury 2 weeks after his wedding
A driver has been jailed[1] for more than three years after causing a serious crash that left a man with a traumatic brain injury. Dominic Johnson, 47, is believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel of his Vauxhall Movano van while driving on the A141 towards March[2] at 5am on June 29, 2023. Johnson, of England Way, New Malden, Greater London, drifted into the opposite carriageway before colliding with a Suzuki Vitara and leaving the road to end up in a field 100 feet away.
The driver of the Suzuki, a 56-year-old man from Lincolnshire, had to be cut from the car and suffered life-threatening head injuries. Johnson was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. A forensic collision investigator noted gouge marks on the road that suggested Johnson's van veered across the road.
A reconstruction of the crash showed Johnson's vehicle was on the wrong side of road at the point of impact. When interviewed by the police, Johnson said it was the other driver who was in the wrong lane. The airbag data module was removed from Johnson's van, which revealed Johnson was steering 50 degrees to the right and had accelerated to 50mph without braking.
It was revealed by a hotel in Coventry that Johnson could only have had just over four hours of sleep the night before the crash. The other driver had to spend two months in hospital and suffered a traumatic brain injury, numerous fractures of the skull as well as limb, pelvis, ribs and spinal fractures. The police were told how the crash changed his life and now, he requires a lot of care, must walk with a frame, struggles with day-to-day activities, and has not worked since the collision.
In a second police interview, Johnson gave a pre-prepaed statement that blamed the other driver for the crash. Johnson was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Johnson continued to deny the charge and stood trial for four days in August at Peterborough[3] Crown Court where jurors found him guilty of the offence.
Johnson was jailed for three years and two months and was disqualified from driving for four years and seven months at the same court on Friday, October 31 Detective Constable Niall Hamshere, of the BCH Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU), said: "The impact of this collision on the victim cannot be underestimated. In a victim impact statement considered by the court, he explains how his life has been permanently altered by the crash, including losing his job, having surgery at hospital and suffering from continuous pain, anxiety, PTSD, and tinnitus.
Having got married two weeks before the collision, he has also never got to enjoy a honeymoon.
"Johnson's manner of driving was extremely dangerous and he refused to admit he was at fault, continuing to blame the other driver and taking the case to trial.
"We may never know if Johnson fell asleep at the wheel or what caused him to swerve into the other lane - but we would always urge drivers not to get behind the wheel when they're tired and to take regular breaks."