County Durham service station collision should act as 'warning'

A Durham force motoring expert cited the example of an out-of-control driver who was jailed this week, following a potential filling station catastrophe, on a sunny Sunday morning, in July last year.

Peter Wilkinson received a 16-month prison sentence, his first jail term, after admitting both dangerous driving and driving with drugs in his system above the specified limit, in a hearing at Durham Crown Court, on Tuesday (February 21).

As reported in The Northern Echo, Wilkinson was at the wheel of a black BMW X5 while under the influence of cocaine, when he attempted an overtaking manoeuvre on a roundabout, on the A167 near the Coach and Horses, at Thinford.

Read more: Three other cars and two petrol pumps damaged in BMW Croxdale crash

Durham Crown Court heard that having then pulled away from the roundabout at 70-miles per hour, he drove on the wrong side of the road, “as if in a haze”.

He had to be alerted by his passenger of an oncoming car and then left it to the last second to swerve back into the correct lane of the A167, heading northwards.

But, in trying to right the car, as he pulled over to the northbound carriageway, the BMW went out of control and went flying through a low brick wall of the Barmoor Shell Service Station, at Croxdale, careering onto the forecourt.

The BMW ploughed into another car, which, in turn shunted into a further two vehicles and knocked over two petrol pumps.

It was only the quick-thinking of the station attendant which prevented a potentially more serious outcome as the pumps were deactivated to prevent the risk of a spark igniting fuel.

Both Wilkinson, with back injuries, and his passenger, who had to be freed by the emergency services, having been trapped in by a damaged door and the activated air bag, were taken to hospital.

Read more: Croxdale A167 crash: Two people taken to hospital by ambulance

The passenger suffered three hairline pelvic fractures and later told police he felt lucky to have survived the crash.

A female motorist, whose stationary vehicle was struck on the forecourt, said it was only lucky she had taken her two sons into the station kiosk to buy cold drinks, on a hot day, that they were not in the vehicle at the time of the multiple collision.

The court heard that slightly earlier, prior to the collision, Wilkinson left his passenger fearful after driving at up to 90-miles per hour on his way to a ‘drive-thru’ fast food takeaway, at Thinford, where he was then seen to be swigging from a can of cider.

Having admitted the charges, the court heard that the defendant, now 43, of Boyne Street, Willington, has several previous serious driving offences on his record.

Jailing him, Judge Jo Kidd told Wilkinson it was “astounding” that no-one was killed or seriously injured, including himself, his passenger, other road users and all those at the services station, at the time

She also imposed a 44-month driving disqualification and told Wilkinson he will only legally be allowed to drive unaccompanied again if he passes an extended re-test at the end of his ban.

Speaking after the hearing, PC Gareth Hopps, from the Durham force’s Road Policing Unit, said: “Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is never going to end well for anyone.

“Wilkinson not only put his life at risk, but his passenger and everyone else on the roads that day too.

“Please, don’t be one of those people who risks it and thinks they won’t get caught."

Read next:

               Croxdale A167 crash: Man arrested on suspicion of dangerous and drug driving

               A167 crash: Driver in hospital after car collides with tree near Durham's Honest Lawyer

               Two men taken to hospital after crash on A167 in Croxdale

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PC Hopps added: “You will, and when you are, you will have to face justice.”

Durham Police have now released a still image from cctv footage from the service station.

It captures the moment the out of control BMW, with Wilkinson at the wheel, careers onto the forecourt, on Sunday July 10, shortly after 11am, last year.