Man sentenced to 18 years for deliberately driving car at pedestrians
One of the victims sustained serious head injuries and was hospitalised for 5 months
A man from Ipswich has been sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment for deliberately driving a car at a group of pedestrians earlier this year, following an altercation at a pub in the town.
Thomas Broughton, of Woodbridge Road, will serve a minimum of 12 years in custody, with the remaining period on licence.
Broughton had been found guilty of four offences at the conclusion of a week-long trial in September, and received sentences for each as follows:
- Wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (18 years imprisonment)
- Two counts of attempted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (10 years imprisonment to be served concurrently for each offence)
- Dangerous driving (Two years imprisonment to be served concurrently and disqualified from driving for four years, with a 12-year uplift, so 16 years in total until test passed)
He was convicted of these charges after being cleared by the court of three counts of attempted murder.
The incident took place shortly after midnight on Sunday 8 March in St Helens Street.
Police were called at 12.25am to reports of a collision between the junctions of Regent Street and Dove Street, where a black Audi A3 being driven by Broughton mounted the pavement and drove at a group of six men, colliding with three of them.
Two of the victims sustained serious injuries and were initially taken to Ipswich Hospital for treatment.
However, one of the men – aged in his 40s – was later transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in what was considered to be a life-threatening condition at the time. He sustained serious head and brain injuries and only left a rehabilitation centre in August after five months of treatment. He is currently only able to walk short distances with assistance.
The second man taken to hospital required several days of treatment, but has now recovered from his injuries. The third victim was clipped by the car and suffered minor injuries which did not require hospital treatment.
T/Detective Superintendent David Henderson, the Senior Investigating Officer, said: “There is no doubt in my mind that Thomas Broughton mounted the pavement intentionally and with the clear intent to cause harm to the group of men walking there.
“This was an extremely mindless and dangerous action, motivated at most by a minor skirmish outside a pub, which apparently took place following his belief that someone in the group had directed a comment towards him.
“As a consequence of this revenge attack, one man has been left with very serious injuries – he currently has limited mobility down one side, suffers with memory problems and is not able to walk unaided.
“The sentence handed down reflects the seriousness of Broughton’s crimes and also takes into account his continued denial of the offences – I hope he will now take the time to think about the severe impact he has had on the lives of others.”