A driver who crashed into a double-decker bus causing it to smash into a house has been jailed.
Last year on December 15, Laurence Salaou, 23, was driving a Volkswagen Golf on Highridge Road in Bishopsworth when he crashed into the bus, which caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
The crash caused considerable damage to the property, which saw a lot of the brickwork of its facade torn clean off.
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After he admitted dangerous driving at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday, Salaou was subsequently jailed for 18 months. Previously he had admitted a charge of driving while disqualified.
At the same time, a charge of causing criminal damage totalling £300,000 was dropped. Salaou fled the scene on foot - leaving a large quantity of cash in his vehicle - before the arrival of police officers. The court was told how, beforehand, his Salaou had been seen running a red light and speeding through a 20mph zone before he eventually crashed into the bus.
The bus driver himself ended up cutting his hand in the crash, and a small child onboard ended up being thrown from her seat due to the impact.
Miraculously though, nobody was seriously injured in the crash. The house, however, was badly damaged, with an estimated £300,000-worth of repairs needed.
Officers from the force's Operation Remedy team worked hard to carry out CCTV and forensic enquiries, using blood from the airbag to identify Salaou as the driver.
His passenger was also identified and arrested before being released without charge. Salou and his passenger left the scene on foot, leaving the car.
Operation Remedy Insp Steve Davey said: "The manner in which Salaou was driving was dangerous and it's very fortunate that nobody was injured in the collision.
"However, the incident has left a family displaced and without a home for a number of months, as the condition of their home can only be described as unliveable.
"We hope that this sentence serves as a deterrent to anyone thinking of driving dangerously on our roads and provides justice to those who were on the bus and who own the badly damaged house."
If you suspect someone is driving dangerously, or not in accordance with the law, you should report it to the police. If it is an emergency and an ongoing matter where there is an immediate threat to life, please call 999.
If it is no longer ongoing or not an emergency, please call 101 or report it to the police through their website: Report | Avon and Somerset Police
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