Three Crashes in Three Minutes: Driver Jailed for Life-Changing Injury
A reckless driver who smashed into three vehicles in just three minutes in Southampton has been jailed for three years. One of the crashes left a 16-year-old boy with serious head injuries.
Sequence of Collisions Ends in Chaos
Thomas-Jay Lucas Gospel, 22, from Eastleigh, was behind the wheel of a blue Renault Clio on December 14 last year when trouble began.
- At 8.23pm on Holcroft Road, Gospel tried to squeeze between a parked car and an oncoming vehicle but got stuck. He reversed, mounted the pavement, and tore down a garden fence to escape.
- Next, on Warburton Road, he hit a 16-year-old boy, throwing him into the air and causing a severe, life-changing head injury.
- Just three minutes later, on Bursledon Road, Gospel ran a red light and crashed into three more cars.
Nail Gun Threat and Police Arrest
When one victim confronted him, Gospel escalated the situation by pulling a nail gun from his boot and pointing it at the man’s head. Police arrived shortly after to arrest the volatile driver.
Gospel refused to provide a blood sample at the scene.
Justice Served: Guilty Pleas and Sentence
He pled guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen, criminal damage, two counts of failing to stop after collisions, and common assault.
Gospel was sentenced to three years behind bars and banned from driving for four years, with an extended driving test required before he can get back on the road.
“This case involved a very serious and prolonged piece of bad driving,” said PC Derek Hearn of the Roads Policing Unit.
“Gospel’s selfish actions have left his 16-year-old victim with a life-changing injury, as well as putting many other road users at risk. This should serve as a warning to people of the serious consequences that come with such dangerous driving.”
