Hit-and-run victim left brain-damaged

AN uninsured driver from Oldham who was involved in a road accident which left a man brain-damaged has been jailed for 15 months.

Dean Wright (25) was in his mother’s Fiat Punto without permission when the crash, involving a child’s quad-bike with three men on board, happened in Manchester Road, Oldham.

Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court was told that after investigating the incident, police were unable to decide which, if either, driver was responsible.

Wright, of St Mary’s Road, Oldham, said he had right of way at the junction of Bryon Street as traffic lights were on green.

Sentencing him to 15 months in prison, Recorder Philip Cattan told him: “This is a tragic case — tragic because people were seriously injured, one perhaps brain-damaged for life, and you will live with this.

“I am prepared to accept that this accident was not due to the manner of your driving, and you are not being sentenced for that.

“Had you not been at the wheel of this car, and without any authority however, this tragedy would not have occurred.”

He added: “This is about as bad as such a case can be.”

The accident happened when the quad-bike emerged into Manchester Road from Wright’s left. One of two passengers on the machine managed to jump clear, but the bike then toppled over.

David Goodison, the other passenger, was rushed to hospital with multiple injuries including a fractured skull.

He is still in hospital where he is bedridden, and unable to communicate, other than by nodding his head. He is likely to remain in the same state for the rest of his life.

The rider of the quad-bike, Wesley Roberts (30), was badly hurt in the crash, but has since made a good recovery.

Police are now preparing an advice file for the Crown Prosecution Service, with a view to bringing a prosecution against him.

Wright who escaped virtually unscathed, drove through the junction after the accident, then told his three passengers to get out of the vehicle, saying he would move it to a place of safety and return. Instead he went to a friend’s house, where he drank a bottle of Malibu and took a line of cocaine.

He later went back to the scene, but panicked and left when he saw police officers.

When he arrived at his mother’s home in Wood Park Close around two hours after the accident, officers were waiting for him.

Gary Woodall, defending, said Wright had expressed sincere remorse and regret about the injuries caused.

Wright admitted aggravated vehicle-taking, driving without a licence, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident, having no insurance, failing to provide a breath test, and failing to co-operate with police by providing a blood sample for analysis.

He was jailed for a total of 15 months, disqualified from driving for two years, and told he will have to take an extended driving test before ever being given a licence.