Driver hit teen causing catastrophic injuries - then let his wife take the blame
A drunk driver ran a red light at a busy junction and knocked down a teenage cyclist, causing catastrophic and life-changing injuries.
Jerzy Jozefiak quickly swapped seats with his wife and let her take the blame for the crash for the crash. A court heard the victim, a 16-year-old boy, spent a total of eight months in hospital and had to undergo multiple operations, including having a piece of his skull bone removed. The teenager - who is a talented artist - has been left with serious neurological and physical injuries as a result of the crash, and a judge has praised his determination to rebuild his life.
Jozefiak, 39, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving. With a one-third discount for his guilty plea Jozefiak was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison - he will serve up to half that period before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community, reports Wales Online.
Sentencing at Swansea Crown Court, Judge Catherine Richards said there was no reason for Jozefiak, a dad-of-three, not to have stopped at the junction, and she told him he had caused the casualty life-changing injuries. She described the victim as a "talented and determined young man" who had shown "exceptional resilience" in the face of the challenges put before him, and she noted no sentence the court could imposed could ease the pain and suffering of the family.
The crash happened on July 9 in Swansea, south Wales, after Jozefiak was travelling between 46mpg and 48mph on the 30mph road. Sian Cutter, prosecuting, the cyclist was crossing the eastbound carriageway at the light-controlled junction when he was hit by the Renault car. The youngster struck the windscreen and roof box of the vehicle before being thrown to the ground and skidding along road, coming to rest some 20 yards away. She said a number of motorists at the junction later reported that the traffic lights were showing red at the time.
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Jozefiak's stopped his car in the nearby bus stop and got out - his wife then climbed across into the driver's seat from the passenger seat. The court heard she too then got out of the Renault and told passers-by that she had been driving. Motorists rushed to help the injured boy, and one of the first people on the scene was an off-duty paramedic who found the casualty lying on the road. The youngster was unconscious and bleeding profusely, and had a "partially amputated" arm as well as other wounds.
Miss Cutter said the emergency services were called and were soon on the scene, as was the casualty's father, who had been alerted to the incident by a school friend of the teenager who had been crossing the road ahead of him when the collision happened. The prosecutor said police spoke to Jozefiak and his wife - the defendant's wife told officers she had been the one driving and she was arrested; Jozefiak failed a roadside breath and was also arrested. A subsequent evidential test in the police station showed the defendant had 47mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the legal limit being 35mg. The 39-year-old answered "no comment" to all questions asked in his first interview but in a second interview admitted he was driving saying he had been drinking alcohol the night before the collision and did not think he would still be over the limit.
Meanwhile casualty had been given blood transfusions at the scene before being airlifted to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. The court heard the youngster had "significant soft tissue damage" to his right arm as well as fractures to his skull and facial bones, a broken collar bone, and bleeding on the brain. He underwent multiple operations to try to repair the nerve damage to his arm - including removing nerves from his leg to graft into his arm - as well as surgery to remove part of his skull to relieve the pressure that was building up. He was subsequently transferred to Morriston Hospital for further plastic surgery procedures, and by August 15 was able to say a few words, though his neurological function was still significantly impaired. By the end of that month the teenager was able to sit up in a chair. The court heard the youngster was later transferred to Neath Port Talbot Hospital where rehabilitation continued including the patient moving away from needing a feeding tube.
The prosecutor said in a report to the court a specialist brain injury nurse detailed the ongoing "cognitive limitations" and physical issues experienced by the teenager including problems with speech, balance, and very limited movement in his right arm. The nurse concluded that the youngster sustained "life-changing injuries" in the collision and faces "years of rehabilitation", and will need "an element of support" for the rest of his life. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
In a statement to the court from the boy's father he said his son had been a typical active teenager who used to like cycling, going to the gym, playing video games, and spending time with this friends. He said his son was a very talented artist who had been planning to go to Gorseinon College to study creative media. The dad said his son had been left feeling "very isolated and down", was "frustrated" at how long rehabilitation was taking, and feels he is being held back by something that was not his fault while his friends get on with their lives. The father added that the family want the defendant to understand the impact of what he has done, and to understand they feel he showed the injured boy "no respect" by lying to officers about who had been driving.
The court heard a forensic crash examiner had concluded that Jozefiak had been driving between 46mpg and 48mph at the time of the crash, and there there was no evidence of any braking in the moments before the impact. The speed limit on the section of Fabian Way where the incident happened is 30mph. The investigator concluded that the collision had been caused by excessive speed, the influence of alcohol, and the driver's failure to react to what was in front of him.
Jerzy Jozefiak, of Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has a previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol relating to the same incident.
Huw Davies, for Jozefiak, said he had spoken to the defendant and his wife at length on a number of occasions and they both "feel terrible" about what happened and had been "reduced to tears". He said the father-of-three takes full responsibility for his actions, and accepts he had been extremely foolish in allowing his wife to initially take the blame.
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