No jail for danger driver whose car plunged down mountain
A dangerous driver whose car plunged down a mountainside and left three people injured has been given a suspended jail sentence.
Aaron Dodd, 37, of Shaw Road, Shrewsbury, had been found guilty of dangerous driving by a jury at Mold Crown Court and Judge Niclas Parry said those who saw the dash-cam footage “frankly gasped”.
The judge told him: “You have been convicted after trial of a shocking piece of dangerous driving ... it is little short of a miracle that no one was killed.”
Three men were injured and one needed hospital treatment after the two-car crash in Llangynog, Powys, on September 9 last year.
The judge said Dodd had three convictions for drink driving, although some time ago.
Suspending the jail term for two years, Judge Parry ordered him to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and banned him from the road for two years, subject to a re-test.
Paulinus Barnes, prosecuting, said one of the victims, the driver of a Vauxhall Astra, had stated that at the time of the crash he had obtained a job as a removal driver but had been unable to work because of his injuries.
Philip Clemo, defending, said Dodd had driven 40,000 miles in a year without incident.
His injuries had probably been the most serious of anyone involved.
The barrister explained that Dodd had pleaded not guilty because he couldn’t remember what had happened.
