A man under the influence of drugs while driving crashed into a car and injured a four-year-old boy and his family. Michael Stanley, 33, collided with an oncoming car after he overtook one vehicle on a bend the A493 near Tywyn.
Stanley, who did not have a driving licence, had been driving up to 90mph on a rural road with a 60mph limit. He admitted to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for two years by a judge at Caernarfon Crown Court.
The incident occurred on last year's August bank holiday weekend. Prosecutor Maria Masselis told the court that the family had visited the Cae Du campsite, between Fairbourne and Tywyn, with their two sons, and were driving in their white BMW car at about 8.45pm when the crash occurred, North Wales Live reports.
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Witness, Dave Elkins, was driving a Morrisons van in the opposite direction - towards the BMW - when a blue Vauxhall Grandland SUV overtook him. The court heard that Mr Elkins estimated that Stanley, the driver of the Grandland, was travelling at up to 90mph. Stanley completed the overtake and then lost control because of his speed and hit the BMW head-on. Stanley and his two male passengers were able to get out of the vehicle after it came to a rest upside down.
The father in the BMW managed to kick open his door and got his two children out, who were both "shocked and crying" - they were then placed in their child seats at the side of the road. Mr Elkins, the Morrisons van driver, pushed his "SOS" button which alerted police to come to the scene. The prosecutor said a nurse had been staying at a campsite and saw the collision. She arrived and gave first aid.
The court heard Stanley, of Geufron House, Corbett Square, Tywyn, had told one of his passengers to take the blame because he was worried his own children would be taken off him if it were revealed he had been the driver. Paramedics took both parents and the children aged four and two in the BMW for treatment in a hospital in Aberystwyth.
The four-year-old boy needed emergency corrective surgery for a fractured wrist. He had to wear a cast for seven weeks. The boy was unable to play football and go swimming with his friends.
The boy's dad suffered chest pain and later interrupted sleep. In a victim statement, he said he had been an infantryman in the Rifles for 14 years but his job was effectively downgraded so he was doing administrative duties due to the injuries.
The boy's mother sustained the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. She also developed anxiety, depression and had flashbacks.
Deborah White, defending, said Stanley has his own "demons" but takes full responsibility for his actions and is genuinely remorseful. Father-of-three Stanley also admitted two drug driving offences, for having cannabis derivatives and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.
Ms White added: "The realisation of what could have happened that day and the harm that was caused to other people's children has been a wake-up call to him."
The judge His Honour Timothy Petts told Stanley: "You went driving when you should not have done. You have never passed a driving test and you had drugs in your system. It was clearly a stupid idea to drive but you did.
"You drove at high speed, estimated by a fellow driver to be 80mph to 90mph." He lost control on a bend and collided with another car.
The judge added: "To make matters worse after the collision you tried to persuade someone else who had been in your car to try to take the blame."
The judge added that Stanley had "no apparent motivation" to get a driving licence and his attempts at rehabilitating himself following previous convictions had had a "hollow" ring.
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