Boy avoids detention after driving into house at 60mph

A teenage boy has avoided detention after seriously injuring his ex-girlfriend when he drove in to the front of a house at 60mph.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to eight months in a young offenders institution suspended for two years and must complete 80 hours of unpaid work in the community.

He was also banned from driving for two years and must take an extended retest.

As previously reported, the boy was charged after the car he was driving crashed into the front of a house on Meadow Lane, North Hykeham on December 23 2017, leaving him and his teenage passenger, who was said to have been eight weeks pregnant and his former girlfriend, trapped inside.

He also caused damage estimated at over £45,000.

The boy, who was 17, failed to brake on a right hand bend after being distracted by his former partner who was pulling his arm during a row in the car.

Fortunately the owners of the semi detached house in Meadow Lane, North Hykeham, were at their daughter’s wedding reception and returned early to find the car embedded in the front porch.

Lincoln Crown Court heard the pair had been arguing after it appeared the boy discovered his former girlfriend was pregnant with a new partner.

She suffered fractures to her spine and sternum after the car ploughed through a brick garden wall and entered the front of the house causing damage of £45,153.

Julie Warburton, prosecuting, said: “At the time of the collision he was driving twice the 30mph speed limit.

“The car essentially entered the ground floor of the house through the ground floor windows and span around.”

The girl, who was also 17, later admitted the accident was partly her fault because of pulling at the boy’s arm.

Both teenagers were taken to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham following the crash which happened at 11pm on December 23 2017.

During police interview, the boy accepted he was driving at 60mph and did not see the 30mph signs after being distracted by what was happening inside the car.

He pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving after the prosecution accepted a previous charge of attempted murder was not suitable as there was no evidence his actions were deliberate.

In a victim impact statement the girl said she had to take morphine and lay down for two weeks after the crash because of the pain. She also lost her place at college and still has physiotherapy for her injuries.

Michael Cranmer-Brown, mitigating, told the court what happened was a result of inexperience from a young driver and having his arm tugged.

Mr Cranmer-Brown added: “It is a world away from the charge he originally faced.”

Passing sentence Judge Simon Hirst told the boy that an immediate custodial sentence was not necessary given the relatively short period of the dangerous driving and all he had been told about him.

Judge Hirst warned him: “When you are judged responsible enough to drive a car there is an enormous responsibility on you to drive it properly and safely.”