Drink driver banned after two crashes
A woman had to be cut free from her car after a drink driver who had also snorted cocaine crashed twice in a matter of minutes on same Bridgnorth road.
Jasdeep Khukh, 31, had been drinking Grey Goose vodka and snorted "four to five lines" of the Class A drug when he twice lost control of his car on the B4176 in the Stableford area on February 17 this year.
At around 1.30pm he carried out an overtaking manoeuvre which caused a car containing a couple and a six-year-old boy to spin in the road. Then, a few minutes later a mile-and-a-half further along the road, he crashed into the rear of a woman's car, causing her to end up in a hedge, trapped in her vehicle.
James Bruce, prosecuting, told Shrewsbury Crown Court: "He drove dangerously and had two separate crashes. In the first, a man had been driving with his partner and her six-year-old son. He was going in the other direction to the defendant. Khukh made an overtaking manoeuvre and hit the side of his car. The driver of the other car grazed his hands but nobody else was hurt. Other motorists observed his driving and said that he caused them to brake or there would have been another crash."
The second crash took place shortly after. The woman was taken to hospital but suffered no serious injuries. When police arrived at the scene, Khukh had moved himself into the passenger seat of his car and was reaching under one of the seats. Police found a bottle of Smirnoff vodka and a Stanley knife. Khukh refused to give breath and blood samples, but a saliva test revealed he had cocaine in his system. Mr Bruce added: "He admitted that he had been drinking Grey Goose vodka and had taken cocaine."
Khukh, of Haybridge Avenue, Hadley, Telford, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and failure to provide blood or breath specimens without reasonable excuse.
Brendan Reedy, defending Khukh, said that the defendant had been suffering from mental health problems and that his sister had called police to search for him due to concerns for his welfare. He said: "He had drink and drugs in his system, but his mental state will have also contributed to his driving."
Judge Anthony Lowe told Khukh: "You didn't know what you were doing and it could have had fatal consequences."
He sentenced Khukh to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. He also disqualified him from driving for a year, ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and to go to six alcohol treatment sessions.
