A COACH driver whose vehicle crashed on to a main A66 roundabout has been acquitted of alleged dangerous driving – but will be sentenced later today for careless driving.
Carlisle Crown Court has heard how Darryle Warren, 52, was transporting around 40 people back to West Cumbria, in October 2017, after they watched a rugby league Grand Final in Manchester.
Passengers raised concerns after the coach was seen to drift between lanes on the M6 northbound. After joining the A66 westbound, the vehicle was again reported to be veering before Warren misjudged his downhill approach to the Crosthwaite roundabout near Keswick.
One passenger was said to have grabbed the steering wheel as the coach “bounced on to the roundabout island and came to a halt in grass and mud at around 11-20pm.
Warren admitted careless driving, and told police shortly after the collision he had been “utterly, utterly stupid”. He went on trial this week in front of jury which, today (FRI), found him not guilty of the more serious dangerous driving charge he denied.
Judge Peter Davies adjourned the case and told jurors he had yet to decide whether Warren, of Scotland Road, Carnforth, would receive a driving ban for the carelessness he accepts. Warren was granted bail and is due to be sentenced later this afternoon. Judge Davies observed: “It is persistent careless driving. It is not momentary inattention.”
