Knighton: Cocaine driver jailed after woman, 79, injured

A van driver who left a woman seriously injured after crashing while under the influence of cocaine has been jailed for 16 months.

David Painter veered across the A4113 into a car in which Patricia Kerrigan, 79, was a sleeping passenger, Caernarfon Crown Court heard

She was left with 10 broken ribs and later developed pneumonia and delirium.

Painter admitted drug-driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving on the A4113 in Powys.

Painter, 43, of Twitchen Road, Clunbury, Shropshire, was banned for three years and eight months and until he passes an extended retest.

The court heard the car Mrs Kerrigan was in, which was driven by her 82-year-old husband, had passed through Knighton and was heading towards Ludlow when the accident happened last November.

Rosemary Proctor, prosecuting, said she was treated at hospital in Hereford for her injuries.

Painter suggested he may have been looking at the van's radio.

CCTV and dashcam footage was shown to the court.

Judge Niclas Parry said Mrs Kerrigan had suffered physical discomfort and significant mental trauma.

He said Painter was a devoted family man but spent £100 a week on cocaine.

"You could have killed two people, even yourself," he said. "I have no doubt this matter is simply too serious for anything other than an immediate custodial sentence."

Dafydd Roberts, defending, said Painter wanted to apologise to Mrs Kerrigan and her husband.