Halifax driver who smashed car into £48,000 coach had been ''bingeing' on drink and drugs days before crash

A Volvo coach worth £48,000 was written off after it was hit by a speeding car in Hebden Bridge and then completely demolished a nearby bus shelter.
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Fortunately the driver of the coach had already dropped off his passengers at the town’s railway station when he was confronted by the out of control Vauxhall Astra as it came “screeching” round a blind corner on Market Street.

Prosecutor Paul Canfield told Bradford Crown Court that the Astra, which had a defective headlight, was being driven in excess of the 20mph speed limit by uninsured provisional licence holder Luke Smith, who had been “bingeing” on drink and drugs in the days leading up to the collision.

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Mr Canfield said Smith lost control of the Astra and veered onto the wrong side of the road colliding with the front offside of the coach which then crashed into the bus shelter.

Bradford Crown CourtBradford Crown Court
Bradford Crown Court

Smith, 27, of Field House Cottages, Halifax, tried to run off, but he was chased and surrounded by members of the public and brought back to the scene.

But when police officers arrived the other male, who had been in the car, ran off and in the confusion Smith also managed to flee dropping a can of cider as he ran away.

Mr Canfield said an examination of the driver’s airbag in the Astra linked Smith to the incident by his DNA and he was arrested a couple of months after the crash which happened in October 2019.

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The court heard that the coach driver suffered bruising to his chest and shoulder in the collision and he had lost about £5000 in earnings.

Mr Canfield confirmed that the coach, worth £48,000, had been written off.

Smith had been due to appear before the courts in June last year, but the Covid pandemic meant he did not make his first court appearance until last month when he pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident, driving without insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

Today Recorder Thomas Moran jailed Smith for 10 months and banned him from driving for three years and five months.

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Smith will also have to take an extended driving test before he can lawfully drive on the roads again.

The court heard that Smith had admitted that he hadn’t slept for a few days due to “partying” and had he had been bingeing on drink and drugs.

Recorder Moran said mercifully there were no passengers on the coach at the time or anybody standing at the bus shelter that evening.

“The consequences of this could have been so much more serious for the reasons I’ve explained, but they were serious enough in any event,” he told Smith.

“This is so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified.”