Dad-to-be left eight-year-old a 'nervous wreck' after crashing into her mum's car before fleeing scene
A dad-to-be with a provisional driving licence fled the scene having left an eight-year-old girl injured after smashing into her mum's car. A court heard how Aiden Dodd, from Leigh, performed a "highly dangerous manoeuvre" before hitting a Renault Clio head on.
Dashcam footage from a third vehicle showed that the 23-year-old had overtaken one car and was in the process of overtaking another at the time of the crash, ignoring a solid white line in the middle of the carriageway in order to do so. Ms Hughes was instinctively able to "break heavily and steer towards a verge" on her left-hand side, resulting in only a "glancing" blow, but her car was ultimately written off by the smash.
Ms Hughes suffered bruising to her chest and neck as a result of the incident, while her young daughter was left with a "nasty graze" on her neck from her seatbelt and spent the night in hospital. In a statement which was read out to the court on her behalf, the self-employed horse riding instructor outlined how she had to take a month off work and did not receive any compensation from her car insurance provider despite the write-off.
Dodd, who only held a provisional licence at the time, was eventually arrested on April 23 and made "full and frank admissions" under interview. He has convictions for 17 previous offences, including taking a vehicle without consent as a youth and attempted burglary. Dodd admitted dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident and driving without a licence and insurance. He was jailed for 14 months.