Van driver banned over crash that left man badly hurt
A van driver who caused a caused a four-vehicle smash that left a man with serious injuries has been banned from the road for 12 months.
Bilston man George Coughlan's moment of madness came on the A38 at Lichfield last October, when he ploughed through stationary traffic, hitting a BMW car and a DAF truck, also sending the car into a spin and crashing into a DAF box van.
The 28-year-old wasn't present at Cannock Magistrates Court, where the extent of his dodgy driving was revealed.
Prosecutor Steve Bird told the court: "On October 7 last year on the A38 at Lichfield, the defendant drove a Mercedes Benz Sprinter van between Canwell Caravans and Bassetts Pole without due care and attention. At around 10.28am, the defendant was driving southbound along the dual carriageway in lane two.
"At a point along the road, traffic became stationary due to a traffic queue forming heading towards Bassett's Pole roundabout, where police were already in attendance dealing with a previous collision. The defendant failed to react sufficiently to the stationary traffic, and subsequently collided with the rear offside corner of a stationary BMW 5 series.
"The force of the impact caused the BMW to rotate anti-clockwise and collide further with a DAF box van that was also stationary in the nearside lane.
"The defendant, having initially collided with the BMW, then continued along the grassed central reservation and central crash barrier. It has then collided with the rear offside of a DAF curtain-sided truck, which was travelling in front of the BMW, and continued along the whole length of the truck before re-joining the carriageway ahead of the truck."
He added: "As a result of this collision, serious injuries were sustained by the driver of the BMW, and minor injuries were sustained by the defendant. Extensive damage was caused to all four vehicles. The road surface was in good condition although damp, and visibility was good."
Coughlan, of St Chads Road, Bilston, was found guilty in his absence of driving without due care and attention on May 6.
He already had nine points on his licence and had been disqualified for failure to provide details on May 16.
When he was sentenced on Friday, he was hit in the pocket for a total of £881 - a £660 fine, £85 court costs and a £66 victim surcharge.
His disqualification will run concurrently with the previous one he was issued with.
