Drug driver jailed after crash on A40 near Northleach

At Gloucester Crown Court on Wednesday (June 15) prosecutor Nadeem Aullybocus said Samuel Mantey of Christopher Close, Southwark, London, had been drinking and using cocaine the night before setting off to drive from Birmingham to London on September 12 last year.

The 30-year-old collided head-on with two other vehicles on the A40 at Northleach.

Mr Aullybocus stated that Mantey left Birmingham at 4.30am after only a few hours sleep and had lost concentration and drifted over to the wrong side of the carriageway.

Mantey collided with a Vauxhall Corsa and then hit a van.

The van's passenger was trapped for over two hours. She sustained injuries to all four limbs, a fracture to her collarbone and her mobility is now severely limited. 

The van driver suffered fractures to his arm, shoulder and ribs. He is still undergoing physiotherapy and taking strong pain-killers.

"He is angry and upset over seeing his partner trying to get around with her injuries," the prosecutor said.

Christopher Folkes, defending, said: “Mantey had made this journey several times to attend his church. On this occasion, he went to a social gathering where he drank more than he would normally and used cocaine.

Samuel Mantey

“He was not speeding, racing, driving through red traffic lights. There was none of that. He merely momentarily lost concentration."

Mantey pleaded guilty to two charges of causing serious injury by driving dangerously in a Mercedes car.

He also admitted having alcohol at between 98 and 230mgs in his blood (the legal limit being 80mgs) and having an excess level of benzoylecgonine (a metabolite of cocaine) in his blood.

Recorder Richard Mawhinney told Mantey: “The route you decided to take would have meant a trip of about three hours. You made a conscious decision to leave at that time of day to make that journey.

“The injuries to your victims were serious, but could have been much worse.

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“These injuries will have a long-term impact, not just on their health but their employment and lifestyle.

The judge disqualified Mantey from driving for three years from the date he is released. Mantey’s driving licence was also endorsed for the alcohol and cannabis driving offences and he was fined £100.