RAF corporal left five people injured after dozing off at the wheel on A69 in Northumberland

Gabriel Cousins was behind the wheel of a BMW when he fell asleep briefly and smashed into two cars driving in the opposite carriageway of the A69

01:00, 06 Jan 2026

A corporal in the RAF left five people injured after briefly dozing off at the wheel and veering into oncoming traffic. Gabriel Cousins, who plays an important role in the military, was on his way to a RAF base when he fell asleep on a single carriageway stretch of the A69 in Northumberland[1].

Newcastle Crown Court[2] heard the crash happened around 2.30pm on December 11 2022, around two miles east of Haydon Bridge, as Cousins drove to RAF Spaceadam, in Cumbria. A witness driving behind Cousins saw his BMW unexpectedly swerve towards the nearside kerb for no apparent reason before he corrected it.

Then, as he headed along a straight stretch of road, the BMW veered smoothly into the opposite carriageway.

A man driving an Audi A3 with his partner in the car saw the BMW driving directly towards him and tried to take evasive action but his car was struck by Cousins' car and the couple were seriously injured.

The driver suffered fractures to his shoulder, right arm and pelvis and bruising to various parts of his body. His partner suffered a bleed on the brain, a clot on her lung and bruising to her liver.

The court heard the collision has had a devastating impact on the couple, who had previous led active lives which they were left unable to continue with. The woman suffered issues with processing information and her memory and attention span, she has PTSD and she will never work again.

The BMW then continued driving into oncoming traffic, hitting a VW Up and three people in that vehicle were also hurt, although less seriously.

They suffered whiplash-type injuries, including neck pain.

Cousins, 27, based at RAF Leeming, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and three of causing bodily harm by wilful misconduct.

Judge Tom Moran said Cousins had "momentarily fallen asleep causing a catastrophic collision". He added: "This case is yet another example of the terrible consequences that can follow when driving when tired.

"This could easily be a case where we were dealing with multiple fatalities. Should this case attract any publicity, the only positive that can come out of it is the message has to go out loud and clear that whatever the distance of the journey, whatever the road, whatever the confidence of the driver to be able to continue driving, they must not do so.

"Many people will be familiar with the feeling of being tired when driving and the temptation to press on.

That's a selfish and dangerous thing to do. It's a gamble that, when you lose, risks serious harming and killing other people."

Judge Moran said that while there was a need for a deterrent sentence, there was a "strong public interest factor pulling in the other direction" due to the role Cousins has in the RAF.

He sentenced him to two years suspended for two years with 300 hours unpaid work. He was also banned from driving for three years and must pay GBP1,000 costs.

Edison Flint, defending, said Cousins was "truly shocked" when he found out the full impact of what he had done, adding: "The events of that day are going to live with him for the rest of his life.

"He accepts driving while deprived of adequate sleep.

This extremely short-lived turn of the steering wheel was an extremely short-lived manoeuvre which led to a devastating impact.

"This was the result of a poor decision made to drive while tired that has resulted in catastrophic consequences for everyone involved."

Mr Flint said there were references from Cousins' superior officers.

He added: "He has been in the RAF for nine years as a corporal." Mr Flint said Cousins has a highly specialised role managing "above top secret" communication systems in areas of conflict and he would be difficult to replace and his imprisonment could have an impacted on operation.

The court heard Cousins has not been able to attain promotions due to the court case and will face disciplinary proceedings.

References

1. ^ Northumberland (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
2. ^ Newcastle Crown Court (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)