A driver brought to court after a passenger filmed them travelling at 100mph before crashing was branded an idiot by the sentencing judge.
Logan Corrie, now 18, was prosecuted following an incident on August 29 last year when he was behind the wheel of a 23-plate Seat Ibiza in the Frizington area.
Carlisle Crown Court heard the footage was captured by one of two passengers in Corrie’s car and then handed over to police.
Through 30mph Frizington, Corrie hit 94mph. That speed increased to 107mph on a 60mph stretch of the A5086.
Audio with footage, shot by the passenger and focused on the speedometer, captured someone appearing to say “100” before the screen went black as Corrie lost control. “It left the road and crashed through a hedge,” said the prosecution. “The car lands in a field. It is overturned.”
Police analysis, using vehicle data, showed it was travelled at 106mph five seconds before impact, with a doomed braking attempt occurring 3.5 seconds beforehand.
Corrie, of Newtown, Frizington, admitted dangerous driving. He had also been punished by magistrates for a drug-driving offence which he committed in January this year.
A defence lawyer told Corrie’s sentencing hearing today that had been diagnosed with ADHD, turned to drug use following bereavement and, a probation officer had concluded, was “a young man with a lot of growing up to do”.
Recorder Julian Shaw said it was tempting to send Corrie — whom he called an idiot for the dangerous driving — to custody. But with prisons bursting at the seams and the teen needing professional help, the judge suspended a 12-month sentence for 12 months.
The judge suggested to Corrie he might like to write a letter thanking engineers who had designed the robust vehicle he drove.
“Back in the day (cars would have) crumpled like a tin can and you would have been mush,” he said. “You could have killed yourself. More to the point you could have killed those young men, boys, in that car.”
Corrie must complete a drug rehabilitation requirement and work with the probation service. He was banned from driving for 15 months and must pass an extended test before getting behind the wheel.
