A dangerous driver who "lost it" in a Bristol street when he repeatedly rammed his car into a taxi has been spared immediate jail. Prosecution told a court Daniel Wassell had earlier been in an altercation.
Wassell, 34, of Downton Road in Knowle, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. He appeared at Bristol Crown Court for sentencing today. (Monday, October 17 2022).
Judge James Patrick handed him a 10-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and disqualified him from driving for 18 months. He told Wassell he had committed "a bad piece of driving" which "richly deserved" a custodial sentence - but the thing that spared him was how long the case had taken to come to court.
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The judge told him: "Whatever had been going on, what you did was simply shocking. Bluntly, you lost it."
Judge Patrick disqualified him from driving for 18 months. Wassell must wear an electronic tag for three months and observe a curfew between 6pm and 6am. He will be required to pass an extended driving test once his suspension is complete in March 2024.
Caitlin Evans, prosecuting, said the taxi picked up five passengers around 9pm on Newquay Road, Knowle West, on October 13, 2020, before dropping them off at nearby Kildare Road. She said the taxi driver was called to pick up the passengers again 100 metres down the road, before Wassell drove his Ford Focus into the taxi in an attempt to hit someone near the car, causing it to veer diagonally into the road.
Wassell then drove "repeatedly" into the Volkswagen Caddy taxi, "destroying" its front bumper and causing its airbags to deploy. No harm was caused to the taxi driver or anyone else at the scene, the court heard.
John Stokes, defending, said his client had acted in an "impulsive, panic-driven manner" in what he accepted was a "moment of madness". As he left court Wassell let out a sigh of relief, and Judge Patrick told him: "Mr Wassell, that was a big sigh, and you came very close."
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