Police have released this photograph to issue a warning to drivers: Don’t drive tired.
The picture shows the devastation caused after a young driver fell asleep at the wheel and ploughed into the side of a house in North Yorkshire.
Jacob Cummins, 20, was jailed for eight months at York Crown Court last month for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
The crash left his friend, 20-year-old Connor Campbell-Miles, fighting for his life in hospital.
He suffered life-changing injuries and had to have part of his bowel removed in surgery.
The court heard that Cummins, of Main Street, Sledmere, had been awake for 20 hours since getting up for work at 6am the previous morning until the crash in the early hours of 16 September last year.
He finished work at 8pm on 15 September and then picked up Connor and another friend to go for a night out in York.
They spent the night in the city centre with some women friends who said Cummins “drank some alcohol during the night – two bottles of VK (alcopop) and one or two pints of beer,” said prosecutor Andrew Finlay.
They stayed in York till about 2am. One of the women said she offered to take the three men home in her car and even bring Cummins back to York the following morning to collect his vehicle, but he insisted on driving.
‘Think about the consequences’
Defence solicitor David Camidge said although a breath test showed that Cummins had alcohol in his system, he was under the drink-drive limit and the main reason for the crash was his lack of sleep which left him very tired.
The crash left a 6ft-by-6ft hole in the wall at the side of the house in Thornton Lane, High Marishes.
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A house beam went straight through the windscreen and impaled the front passenger seat, which was mercifully empty, after the car smashed through a fence and straight into the side of the house.
Fortunately the residents inside were unhurt.
Connor, from Sherburn, near Malton, had been asleep in the back seat when the crash happened. He told the court his parents had “come to my (hospital) bedside to say goodbye” because his prospects were so bleak.
He said he had been left in unbearable agony, faced more surgery and was practically “unemployable” because employers were reluctant to take him on due to his physical condition.
Today, North Yorkshire Police issued a photo of the crash scene and said: “Last week a North Yorkshire man received an eight month prison sentence after he fell asleep while driving home from a night out after being awake for 21 hours.
“He crashed his car, broke a fence and caused extensive damage to a residential property.
“But far worse than that, he had a passenger in the car – a friend who was getting a lift home.
“The passenger was asleep at the time of the crash and suffered serious injuries.
“We know that it’s not always possible to avoid driving when you’re tired but please think about the consequences.
“At the first signs of tiredness, stop and take a break.
“Pull over safely and give yourself chance to rest. It could well be the power nap which saves your life.”
Court reporting: Nick Towle
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