A driver who smashed into Carlisle’s Golden Fleece roundabout at 80mph before driving away on three wheels in his badly damaged car has been given a suspended prison sentence and banned from the road.
Lee Davidson, 35, was travelling from Ulverston to the city’s Harraby area on June 3 when he left the M6 at junction 42, motored up the slip road and careered through a barrier protecting bushes around the inside of the interchange.
Police received reports from members of the public that Davidson’s Saab 93 had crashed, was badly damaged and was “smoking” while being driven away.
There was damage to around 20 metres of barrier with debris and a large quantity of fuel on the road. The Saab was found abandoned three-quarters of a mile away close to a filling station at Carleton.
Davidson, 35, was quickly identified as the absent driver. His passport was found inside the extensively damaged vehicle, which was registered to him and had only three wheels attached.
“The other wheel was actually located back at the roundabout,” prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told Carlisle Crown Court. “The vehicle was driven on three wheels. There were appropriate gouge marks on the surface of the road.”
Davidson later estimated he was travelling at 80mph as he left the motorway, saying: “I was going way too fast. It was a bit of a shock, to be honest.”
He described having panicked and made off, later pleading guilty to dangerous driving plus both failing to report and failing to stop after an accident.
Positive character references provided by his employer and partner were supplied to court.
After hearing mitigation, Judge Nicholas Barker suspended a 10-month prison sentence for two years.
Davidson, of Heather Bank, Ulverston, must complete 200 hours’ unpaid work, a two-month night time curfew and was banned from driving for 16 months. He must complete an extended re-test before his licence is returned.
“It is remarkable, having seen the photographs, that the vehicle was even movable,” said Judge Barker.
