A driver who left a woman seriously injured in a head-on crash after dozing off at the wheel with a child in his car has been jailed.
Brett Miller, who had drugs in his system, knew he was struggling to stay awake almost an hour before his BMW drifted into oncoming traffic, leaving a woman coming the other way trapped in her car with multiple injuries.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the 37-year-old, of Legion Road, Denton, Newcastle, who has previous convictions for driving offences involving crashes, picked a youngster around 6pm on December 5 2021. Around 9.20pm someone phoned Miller and his speech was slurred and he said he kept falling asleep at the wheel and that the youngster had to keep slapping him to wake him up.
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Miller had been seen by witnesses on Fellside Road, Gateshead, driving towards Burnopfield in a BMW, which was seen to cross the white lines in the middle of the road and make no attempt to go back into the correct lane. He was also seen to be braking when there was no need to do so.
He then went fully on the wrong side of the road and crashed head-on into a car coming the other way being driven by a woman, with her partner in the passenger seat. Her car was sent careering into a hedge and she was seriously injured.
The victim told police she had been doing between 25mph and 30mph on the 40mph road, having just negotiated a series of bends, when she saw Miller's lights coming towards her and could do nothing to avoid the impact.
She was trapped in the car and had to be extracted by the fire service. She suffered internal bleeding, a torn stomach muscle, a broken hand, impact injuries to her hand and ankle, a gash to her leg, bruising to various areas and pain in her lower back. She was off work for weeks and was left with mobility issues, most of which resolved after a year.
Miller was found slumped over his steering wheel with a cut head and the youngster was screaming. The court heard he was "aggressive, hostile and abusive" towards officers and threatened to assault them and was also abusive to paramedics and refused to get in an ambulance. A blood sample showed he had cocaine and cannabis in his system.
He told officers he would not put the youngster at risk and when asked if there was anything else he wanted to say, replied: "f*** you, you p****".
He pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was locked up for 28 months and given a two-year driving ban. Sentencing him, Judge Sarah Mallett told him: "You had been taking cannabis and cocaine and were asleep or unconscious at the time of the collision.
"You had a child in your car and you knew you were driving when falling asleep. Your ability was impaired because of drugs and your past convictions should have acted as a warning and deterrent. This was the third accident you have caused."
Christopher Knox, defending, said references show a good side to Miller's character and said he is a shop fitter who has work available. He added that the victim has made a good recovery. The court heard Miller had a positive upbringing and has a strong work ethic.
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