A driver caused a passenger life-changing injuries when he crashed while being chased by police. Father-of-four Ben Witts was in a friend's BMW 1 Series when he gave people a lift from a pub, including a woman.
When police tried to pull him over he simply turned up the car's music and sped off at 100mph through a 30mph zone, before crashing and flipping the BMW onto its roof, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Police had to haul the woman from the vehicle as it caught fire. She sustained extensive spinal injuries which have completely decimated her life.
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Witts, 34, whose address was given as care of Fouracres, Bristol, denied wrongdoing. But a jury convicted him of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Judge Moira Macmillan jailed him for three years. She told Witts: "This was a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road. Harm caused was very high."
Witts was banned from driving for two years, starting from his release from prison. He was ordered to take an extended driving test before taking to the road again.
The court was told it was in April 2019 when Witts - who had consumed alcohol and told a probation officer he had also taken cocaine - gave people a lift home from a pub, including the woman who got in the back of the car. After dropping off some passengers Witts got petrol, before police tried to pull him over but he didn't stop.
The court heard he turned up the car's music and drove erratically and dangerously. Police followed as he drove too fast on Winterstoke Road, accelerating up to 100mph through a 30mph zone.
On Whitchurch Lane he was clocked at 60-70mph through 20-30mph zones, the court heard. After jumping a red traffic light he contravened a no entry bus lane, headed to Bishport Avenue, attempted to drive the wrong way around a mini-roundabout, hit a kerb and flipped the BMW over.
The woman was trapped in the back of the car and was rescued by police. She spent the next six weeks in hospital and, years on, is left with clamps and rods in her body, limited mobility and continual pain.
Neil Treharne, prosecuting, read victim personal statements she made. She described how she had gone from being a self-employed, confident woman to a disabled person whose strength had gone. She outlined how, having once provided for her family, she is now relying on benefits, feels like a burden to her loved ones, is on a high daily medication regime and has had to take out loans to survive.
Dianne Heys, defending, said her client had made efforts in the last two years to turn his life around. She said he was a valued employee who had gained promotion.
Ms Heys told the court: "He does express genuine remorse. He accepts being the driver now.
"He didn't wish to cause anyone any harm. It was accident, brought about by his own stupidity."
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