Mansfield driver jailed for injuring a woman by taking a blind bend too fast

Matthew Wallett overtook a van on New Mill Lane, near Mansfield, and was on the wrong side of the road when he hit a Mercedes carrying a married couple.

Wallett was left with a nosebleed, but the other people weren't so lucky, prosecutor Andrew Howarth told Nottingham Crown Court.

The male driver suffered breathlessness and chest pains. His wife was able to telephone their daughter, who they had been driving to visit, before the crash at 3.40pm, on Sunday, September 27, 2020.

She arrived at the scene to see Wallet had a nosebleed and was talking to someone on his phone about the damage to his silver BMW. She thought he smelled of alcohol.

Her mother, who sustained a fractured rib and internal injuries, needed major surgery to repair her bowel, and since the collision has suffered from anxiety and sleeplessness.

In a statement she said she needed counselling and medication and had struggled with her mobility.

Wallett later told police he'd previously drunk a pint of Fosters and a quarter of a pint of Guinness at the British Legion in Mansfield Woodhouse.

He said he got into his car “angry” and he "drove like an idiot," following an argument with his ex-partner.

He said he "may have misjudged the corner," but didn't consider his driving to be dangerous, until he was shown CCTV from a nearby cottage, and he admitted the collision was his fault.

Wallet, who had no previous convictions and a previously clean driving record, represented himself in court.

The father-of-one said he was sorry and apologised to the people he injured.

Wallett, 32, of Manor Road, Mansfield Woodhouse, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, on September 7, last year.

On Friday, Judge Mark Watson reduced a 45 month sentence to 30 months in prison, because of Wallett's guilty plea, genuine remorse and character.

He was banned from driving for four years and must take the extended re-test before he drives again. He will serve 15 months in custody and the other 15 months on licence.

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