A man has admitted his dangerous driving resulted in another motorist being left badly hurt after a crash on the A66 near Penrith — and that he was over the legal limit for a cocaine breakdown product at the time.
Lucas Keane, 25, appeared at Carlisle Crown Court this morning remotely over a video link.
During a short hearing, Keane admitted that he caused serious injury to the victim by the dangerous driving of a Volvo V40 in the A66 at Whinfell, east of Penrith.
He also pleaded guilty to driving with the proportion of a specified control drug — the cocaine metabolite, benzoylecgonine — over the legal limit in relation to the same incident.
His offences arise out of an early morning collision on September 14 last year involving vehicles travelling in opposite directions. Two people were reported by police to have been taken to hospital following a collision at 6.10am which involved a Volvo V40 and a Ford B-Max.
The driver of the Ford — a man aged in his 50s from the Appleby area — was said to have been taken to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary with a back injury.
In response to Keane’s guilty pleas today, Judge Nicholas Barker adjourned the case for the preparation of a probation service pre-sentence report.
“I am also going to impose a disqualification from driving now. That is a natural consequence of your guilty pleas to these offences,” said Judge Barker.
The precise length of that ban will be set at the court sentencing hearing. That is due to take place on July 8 and Keane, of Queensway, Grantham, Lincolnshire, will remain on bail on the meantime.
