EXCLUSIVE
The family of a woman left brain-damaged by a speeding Nantwich driver, has hit out after he was banned for just nine months by magistrates.
David Lewis, 21, of Mottram Drive, Stapeley, was driving his Subaru Impreza down London Road when he crashed into Deborah Leat’s Nissan Pixo as she was turning out of Wright Court.
The force of the crash left Deborah (pictured) with horrific injuries and fighting for her life.
Police say Lewis’ car, which also had a defective headlight, was being driven between 38 and 46mph at the time in a 30mph zone.
Now her family has hit out after he pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention at Warrington Magistrates on July 18 and was banned from driving for nine months and fined £500.
Daughter Nicki Owens said the sentence was an “insult to my mother”.
Deborah, from Crewe, who worked as a carer in the community, still needs 24-hour care more than six months since the crash happened at about 7.30pm on January 14.
A day after the crash, Lewis told friends on social media how he had emerged from it “without a single cut to be honest”.
Police collision investigators say his Subaru Impreza WRX was being driven from The Leopard pub car park and down London Road at between 38 and 46mph when the collision happened.
Fire crews had to cut the top off her Nissan Pixo as she lay unconscious inside, before she was taken to Royal Stoke Hospital.
Deborah arrived at hospital with a bleed to her brain, bleed to the kidneys, three fractures to the pelvis, and lost her left eye due to shattered glass from the windscreen causing lacerations across her pupil and eyeball.
She now receives 24-hour care from husband Lawrence, 67, and daughter Nicki, 33, both from Crewe.
After the court hearing, Nicki told Nantwich News: “What an insult to my mother!
“She has been left with injuries that will affect her for the rest of her life. She nearly died!
“The police have been fantastic, supported my mum and all the family every step of the way, but it’s the courts that have let my mum down.
“What message does this send out to young lads like David Lewis who go around speeding in their boy racer cars?
“That it’s ok to go around speeding, and putting people’s lives at risk?
“That you can seriously injure a person, and change that person’s life forever, but not to worry, because you will only get a slap on the wrist. It’s wrong!
“He got out of the crash “without a single cut” and my mother had to fight for her life and came out of it with life-changing injuries.
“I find the sentence an insult, to be honest. How a young lad can speed around along urban streets in a vehicle that is meant for speed?
“He is far too immature to realise the impact that the accident he caused has had on the rest of my mother’s life.”
She added: “He has never personally apologised for what he has done, although his mother contacted me to say that she was truly sorry what her son had done to my mother.
“It is going to be a very long road for my mum.
“We have been told by specialists at North Staffs that her pelvis can take around two years to heal, but even when healed, the surrounding nerves and tissue around her pelvis may never heal and she may always experience pain.
“She has a great family around her, and as well as caring for my seven-year-old son who has high functioning autism, I have been caring for my mum every day whilst he is at school until my mum’s husband gets home from work and he can take over.”
Mr Lewis told Nantwich News: “Everything that has gone on from the day it happened, I’m unbelievably sorry.
“I did have contact with the family but for some reason contact stopped.
“I hold my hands up and accept it was my fault for the slightly excessive speed but also the lady pulled out from a junction between parked cars.”
A Cheshire Police spokesperson said collision investigators established that Lewis was likely to be travelling between 38mph and 46mph when he collided with the Pixo.
Investigating officer PC Liz Thompson said: “Lewis was driving over the 30mph speed limit with a defective headlamp in the dark, the consequences of which caused the devastating life-changing injuries to the other driver.
“This tragic incident just goes to show how anyone going about their business can be affected through no fault of their own, not just by speeding motorists but also by those not maintaining their vehicle correctly, and is a very sad reminder that speed limits are there for a reason.”
Look at the facts with this article:
1. The Courts accepted a charge of driving without due care and attention. They could have had a heavier charge – they did not
2. There is no accurate measurement of the alleged speed involved. The report merely says that Mr Lewis was likely to be travelling above 30mph
3. With either 1 headlight or 2, the car that pulled out on Mr Lewis WILL have seen the reflection of the light – remember the incident happened at night
4. There was a duty of care on BOTH parties to drive with due care and attention.
This article is very biased in it’s reporting and readers should consider BOTH positions before casting doubt
Zoe love, if you are driving you have always to remember something or someone can always pull out in front of you.
And you have to brake suddenly
That is the RULE OF THE RD!!
If you are driving and you hit someone THEN THATS YOUR FAULT!!
End of.
Imagine if the person was a small child, is that then their fault!!?
Learn some sense pet, this life is not for the faint hearted.
Poor lady is the one that should be considered here, not your friends feelings for goodness sake.
Grow up!!
No strictly true about the blame of hitting someone pulling out on you. The person pulling out can be driving without due care and attention too
I thought extra double yellow lines had been painted along this Rd to avoid poor visibility.
Speed limit is 30mph and I have reported many cars exceeding this closer to 60mph yet nothing is ever done!!
Perhaps the young man involved can volunteer to monitor traffic speeds in future, as I don’t think the sentence goes far enough
Thats the lamest excuse iv heard if e was doin 30mph an not 46 as e may of been e may of had time to stop or avoid such a massive impact.
But we will never know.
TALK ABOUT ONE SIDED OPINION I KNOW MR LEWIS AND I KNOW HOW SORRY AND CUT UP HE IS OVER ALL THIS.
IT WAS AN ACCIDENT NOTHING MORE AND IF YOU WANTED TO TELL BOTH SIDES MAYBE YOU WOULD’VE POINTED OUT THAT SHE PULLED OUT ON MR LEWIS
The lad was speeding, but the woman has to take some of the blame here as she pulled out in front of him. From the state of the cars, I suspect they would still have hit each other even if he had been doing 30.