A banned BMW driver who ran away after his dangerous overtaking maneuver caused a terrible accident in which three injured people were trapped in their car and has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Luke Elder, 27, and his co-driver both fled the scene of the accident after the speeding BMW, which he had bought just weeks earlier, head-on into one in September last year in the Brearley Curves near Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge Skoda Octavia had driven.
Bradford Crown Court heard the force of the impact tear the BMW’s engine out and the Skoda, which contained a couple and their grown son, pushed against a wall and written off.
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Another driver estimated that the BMW was driving “60-70mph plus” on the single lane road when it passed it near the cul-de-sac.
Prosecutor Chloe Hudson said after the collision, Elder walked past the damaged Skoda and his passenger followed him.
Firefighters had to cut out part of the car to free the injured occupants who were driving to a family celebration in Mytholmroyd that evening.
Elder wasn’t arrested and questioned about the accident until November 2020, but the court heard that after his release, less than three weeks later, he was again stopped to drive a speeding Audi A5 in Hebden Bridge.
The Skoda driver’s parents were both seriously injured in the accident, and his mother suffered multiple fractures to the sternum, vertebrae and ribs.
His father broke three ribs in the accident and was unable to work for six weeks, while the driver himself was unable to work for four weeks and had to use crutches for a while to help him walk.
Elder of Mytholm Close, Hebden Bridge, pleaded guilty in July of causing serious injury from hazardous driving, driving with disqualification, driving without insurance, and failing to stop or report an accident.
His previous convictions revealed that Elder, only 10 years old, had been tried for serious vehicle hijacking and twice prosecuted in 2016 for failing to provide his name and address following an accident.
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Attorney Peter Byrne for Elder said his client was realistic about the sentence he would receive.
“He says he never meant to harm anyone,” said Mr. Byrne.
“It expresses, I claim, appropriate and genuine remorse, not for the situation in which it finds itself, but for the injuries it has caused and its lasting effects.”
Judge Neil Davey QC stated that the maximum sentence for serious injury caused by dangerous persons has been set at five years.
He said Elder’s crimes were made worse by his previous convictions and his later crime last December.
“In my opinion, they were committed against a background of past and future crimes, which shows a total disregard for the law and the safety of other people,” the judge told Elder.
The judge said that after the fall, Elder had a choice of stopping and trying to offer help or running away and thinking of no one but himself.
He said Elder chose to run away and keep the occupants of the Skoda trapped in a car and not get out.
Judge Davey stated that Elder would have been sentenced to four years in prison after a trial, but his admission of guilt meant he was entitled to a 25 percent reduction to three years.
Elder will now be banned from driving for four and a half years and will be required to take an advanced driving test before legal driving again.
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