Sussex drug driver jailed after high speed crash with tractor
Harry Dennis, 21, reached speeds of 120mph while racing another vehicle
Last updated 23rd Apr 2021
A Sussex man who crashed his new car into a tractor, while racing another vehicle at speeds of 120mph, has been jailed.
Police were called back just before 6pm on 18 May 2020, to reports of a crash involving a black BMW 330 and a tractor and trailer on The Broyle in Lewes.
The tractor had been turning left into Half Mile Drove when the crash happened, the impact of which caused it to overturn. The driver, a 41-year-old man from Halisham, suffered serious facial injuries and temporary sight loss. He's since been discharged from hospital.
Harry Dennis, 21, of Maple Close, Maresfield, was identified as the driver of the BMW. He also suffered serious injuries that required hospital treatment. His front seat passenger, a 22-year-old man, didn't need to go to hospital.
"The outcome could have been much worse"
A blood sample showed Dennis had at least 3mcg of cannabis per litre of blood in his system. The legal limit is 2mcg.
It was later discovered he'd overtaken a Honda Civic, reaching speeds of up to 120mph, before the crash.
The Honda driver, who left the scene of the crash before emergency services arrived, was later identified as Danny Stiller, 22, of St. Marks Field, Hadlow Down.
Dennis admitted being at fault and said he shouldn't have been driving the BMW, which he'd only bought the day before, in a police interview.
He denied racing the Honda but CCTV and witness statements proved that not to be the case.
Dennis pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and driving under the influence of drugs, and at Lewes Crown Court was sentenced to 16 month in prison. He was also disqualified from driving for two years and eight months.
Stiller also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. He was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and disqualified from driving for 12 months. He's also got to wear and electronic tag for three months and carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.
Investigating officer, PC Tom Van Der Wee, of the Sussex Roads Policing Unit, who attended the scene, said:
“Although the defendants pleaded guilty and received credit for this, neither were willing to provide an honest account or take responsibility for their actions. Stiller denied that he or Dennis were driving dangerously and denied seeing the crash – despite us having a recording of the 999 call he made to the ambulance service where he admitted to seeing the whole thing.
“Dennis blamed the crash on a momentary lapse of concentration and said he was travelling at just over the speed limit. We were able to prove that he was deliberately driving at speeds far, far in excess of the speed limit – up to 120mph – just before losing control and crashing into the victim who was a tractor driver simply going about his business.
“Although the tractor driver sustained significant injuries, the outcome could have been much worse for both him, the occupants of the racing vehicles and indeed other completely innocent members of the public. Both defendants can count themselves lucky they didn’t kill themselves or anyone else with their selfish and mindless actions.
“I am pleased the court has recognised the severity of what they did and didn’t do, and now both defendants have the chance to do some serious growing up before getting behind the wheel of a car again.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to the members of public who came forward following our witness appeal, and the expert witness who determined the speed of the vehicles from the CCTV footage. As a result, we were able to piece together a jigsaw of the defendants’ driving leading up to the collision, which has helped secure their convictions and take them both off the roads.”