Driver sentenced for hitting teen scooter rider in Cambourne
Christopher Marshall-McIntosh, 32, set his care on fire afterward to cover his tracks
A driver who caused serious injuries to a teenage scooter rider and attempted to cover his tracks by setting his car on fire has been sentenced.
Christopher Marshall-McIntosh, 32, was seen driving his silver Audi A4 at "excessive speed" on Back Lane, Cambourne, at around 8:45 pm on Tuesday, March 5. He collided with a 15-year-old boy riding a push-scooter, throwing the teenager into the air. Marshall-McIntosh sped away while the boy was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge in a life-threatening condition.
At approximately 10:20 pm, the fire service informed officers that they had found the Audi A4 on fire just off Highfields Road, in Highfields Caldecote. Marshall-McIntosh surrendered at Parkside Police Station at about 9:20 am the following morning, Wednesday, March 6.
Today, at Cambridge Crown Court, Marshall-McIntosh, of Marshall’s Close, Teversham, was sentenced to one year and 11 months in jail, having pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing serious injury by careless driving and perverting the course of justice. He was also disqualified from driving for five years and four months.
In a victim impact statement, the victim, who has been left with lasting injuries, said, "The effect the collision has had on my life is huge. I was a hard-working, high-achieving 15-year-old with my whole life ahead of me. This collision has brought a stop to my childhood and youth."
DS Craig Wheeler, of the BCH Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU), commented on the case: "Marshall-McIntosh’s driving and behaviour on the night was absolutely appalling. He knew he had struck and seriously injured a child in a completely avoidable collision, caused solely by the poor manner of his driving. He then selfishly fled the scene and tried to cover up what he had done by taking his car to a remote area in Caldecote and setting it on fire. Thankfully, we managed to quickly identify him as the driver, which led to him handing himself into police the next day."
"This collision has left an innocent 15-year-old boy with life-changing injuries; I hope he and his family can take some justice from today’s sentence. We will not tolerate such appalling behaviour on our roads and I hope this sentence highlights our commitment to pursuing justice for those seriously injured on our roads."