A man whose reckless driving led to a head-on crash severely injuring the other driver has been jailed.
Milosz Danisz Malkowski, 34, was wholly to blame for the collision which left a woman fighting for her life.
On 17 April last year at around 7.30am, Sharon Odell was driving her blue VW on the A170 near Thornton le Dale.
Malkowski was travelling in the opposite direction in his silver VW Passat car towards Pickering when he performed an overtake of a car and a coach.
He failed to return to his lane in time and caused a head-on crash with Mrs Odell’s car, causing extensive damage to both vehicles.
Mrs Odell, who’s 55 and from Pickering, was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition where she remained in a coma for two and a half weeks.
Her injuries were so severe that she underwent multiple operations, including having one of her legs amputated.
‘Affected all around me’
In her victim statement read out in court, Mrs Odell said: “I can’t begin to comprehend how everyone who is close to me felt whilst I was in a coma.
“All of this has not only affected me, but it has also had a big impact on everyone around me, my immediate family, work colleagues and the children I work with at school.
“I am not able to do the things I enjoy most, like country walks with my family and walk my dog.
“I also feel that I can’t do my job to my full ability, like playing games like football and dodgeball with the children I work with.”
After the crash, detailed investigation was conducted by roads policing officers. They found the lead up to the collision was captured on Malkowski’s dashcam.
Forensic work was used to reconstruct the collision, and officers were able to prove the positions of the vehicles when it happened.
This showed that Mrs Odell had done her best to avoid the collision but was unable to do so.
Driving ban
Faced with the overwhelming evidence against him, Malkowski, who also suffered serious injuries in the collision, pleaded guilty.
At York Crown Court on Friday 25 July , he was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and handed a two-year, nine month driving ban.
He will be required to pass an extended test to regain his driving licence.
Thornton le Dale
Traffic Constable Isaac Carter, of North Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group, led the investigation. He said: “Nothing will ever make up for the dreadful, life-changing injuries Mrs Odell suffered that day and the difficulties it continues to have on her day-to-day life.
“I just hope the outcome at court provides some measure of comfort to her and her family, knowing that the person responsible for the trauma has admitted his guilt and been sent to prison.
“As for Malkowski and other dangerous drivers on our roads, this case highlights the unnecessary nature of the overtake and how decision making in those few seconds can have a life-long impact on the victim and their loved-ones.”
