(Image: DURHAM CONSTABULARY)
A young driver who caused a head-on crash while speeding up a hill and overtaking three cars avoided immediate jail.
Ismail Hussain fled the crash scene, but police found his DNA in his abandoned Ford Fiesta, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The 27-year-old left the Honda Civic’s driver with a badly broken wrist, while her daughter was trapped inside after the collision on the A68 Etherley Bank near Bishop Auckland.
Prosecutor Caroline McGurk said: “The speed limit was 60mph, the road was straight and he was approaching a hill crest.
“The defendant attempted to overtake three vehicles whilst exceeding the speed limit and collided with oncoming traffic which he was unable to see due to the dip in the road.
“The other vehicle tried to take evasive action but there was no opportunity to do so and there was a head-on collision.”
Ms McGurk said the other car’s driver suffered a broken left wrist while her daughter was trapped inside, ‘screaming’ in pain.
In a victim personal statement, the woman said the crash left her ‘absolutely terrified’ whenever she drove and in constant pain for months afterwards.
Hussain, of Marton Road, Middlesbrough, admitted causing serious injury due to dangerous driving following the crash on November 20, 2022.
His lawyer, Sophie Johnstone, said Hussain had trained as a teacher but was now training to become a religious Sufi ambassador.
“He is now 27,” she said. “He has no previous convictions and was only 22 at the time.
“Sadly, it is young men and dangerous driving that go hand in hand.
“His decision to overtake in this manner may have been down to impatience and immaturity at the time.”
Recorder Mark McKone KC sentenced Hussain to 22 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 250 hours of unpaid work.
He said: “This was a serious offence of dangerous driving. It was dark and wet.
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“You were approaching the crest of a hill when you overtook three vehicles while exceeding the speed limit and caused a head-on collision.”
“This was an incredible example of risk-taking.”
Hussain was disqualified from driving for two years.
The A68 at Etherley Bank was also the scene of a separate fatal collision, in which Michael John Fell died after his Renault Clio hit an oncoming van.