A man who caused a crash in Chippenham has been jailed – after nine people were hospitalised.
Samuel Jeffrey, 22, was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court yesterday, to 28 months in prison following a three-vehicle collision on the A4 near Pewsham last year.
At around 7.30pm on 15 January, Jeffrey was driving his dad’s car when he overtook another vehicle on a bend and crashed into an oncoming car, carrying a family of three.
That vehicle then spun and hit another travelling towards them, in which six people were inside.
All three people from the first car were taken to hospital with minor physical injuries, including a six-year-old child.
The six from the other vehicle were also taken to hospital which included two young children and a baby, their parents and aunt. The parents both suffered broken bones.
One of those was Jessica Goulding, who was left unable to breastfeed her youngest child, after the accident caused a large haematoma which she says she had to use a pump to help move.
In her Victim Impact Statement read out in court she said: “It’s hard to put into words the impact this time in hospital has had on myself and my family. I feel panicked and scared in an instant. Because of someone else’s actions our lives changed.
“Each car journey is filled with anxiety. I have panic attacks and flashbacks when in the car, which affects everyone around me.
“It’s not just me that has this anxiety. My children are still very wary of the car. My daughter (who is six) cries while we are driving, and her anxiety causes her to be sick.
“My sister who was also in the car suffers from anxieties and although we are so grateful to all still be here, the result of this person’s actions has impacted us greatly.
“The physical repercussions of the accident remain present every day.
“This terrifying ordeal has impacted our lives in an unchangeable way. It will always be with us.”
Roads Policing Officer James Salmond, who was one of the first officers on the scene that night, said: “When arriving at the scene of the crash it was like a bomb had gone off. The scene was devastating and it’s miraculous that no-one was killed.
“This stretch of road is well lit and always busy. It is also not far from a previous fatality in which four young men were killed when their car collided with a house and caught fire.
“The defendant made a choice on the day back in January 2022 to drive his car in such a manner that he did not think of the possible consequences and with no regard to other road users.
“It’s lucky that he did not wipe out two families that night.
“Those people who he crashed into carry their physical and mental scars every day. When they saw Samuel’s car come around that corner, they thought they were going to die.”
Jeffrey, of Lansdowne Crescent, Derry Hill, Calne ,was also given a two year driving ban with an extended retest.
For the past month, Wiltshire Police have been running a campaign focusing on the Fatal Five offences: speeding, drink and drug driving, using a phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt, and careless or dangerous driving.
These are the offences which significantly increase the risk of you being involved in a serious or fatal collision.
If you need to contact police to report these offences, please call 101 or 999 in an emergency and give as much information as possible including a description of the driver, vehicle and direction of travel.
