Drunken van driver who smashed into traffic is jailed
Cocaine and drink-fuelled white van driver whose terrified passenger ‘thought she would die’ as he smashed into five cars to leave trail of destruction is jailed for 14 months
- Michael Page, 37, from Southsea caused five major car crashes and injured three
- He left his victims fearing for their lives and with longer term issues
- The plasterer was filled with booze and drugs as his van ploughed into other cars
A white van driver who was drunk and high on cocaine as he ploughed into five other cars causing horrific damage has been jailed for 14 months.
Michael Page, 37, swore at motorists, risked the life of his passenger and then left a trail of destruction after drunkenly losing his temper and careering into heavy traffic on July 3, 2022.
A court heard that several of his victims feared for their lives as the van hurtled towards them, whilst Page’s own passenger believed she was going to die in the carnage.
Three people were injured as a result of the five separate collisions in Portsmouth, Hants, which ended when Page flipped his own white Citreon Berlingo.
Michael Page, 37, has been jailed for 14 months after a drunken and crazed danger drive that destroyed five cars and left his victims with long-term issues
The carnage of the crash site after Page’s car ploughed into busy traffic and flipped on its side as his passenger feared for her life
After he was arrested, Page was tested and found to be three times the drink drive limit.
The crazed episode began when the plasterer collided into stationary traffic in Portsmouth before promptly driving off and then slamming into another BMW and Kia Rio.
The rampage continued as he drove on the wrong side of the road and crashed into the front nearside of a Skoda Superb, flipping his van and finally smashing into a Vauxhall Astra.
Southampton Crown Court heard how a ‘red mist descended’ over Page and with this coke-fuelled anger he carelessly lost control of the wheel and smashed into multiple cars.
Prosecutor Ruba Huleihel said: ‘[The passenger] remembers telling him to slow down and other [people in cars] were beeping at him which he was aware of as he was putting his finger up at the drivers.’
Page’s own lawyer admitted that ‘it was good fortune matters were not more serious’ after the scale of the damage that was littered all over the streets of Portsmouth
Page’s passenger, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was left ‘terrified’ and now suffers from a fear of travelling in cars as a result.
The male driver of the Kia that Page ploughed told the court: ‘I felt shock and horror as the van came towards me. If I had not taken evasive action I could have been seriously injured or killed.’
He said he is still suffering symptoms six months on including PTSD, as well as dizziness and shoulder and neck ‘issues’.
The couple in the Skoda that became Page’s next casualty said they were left ‘extremely shaken’ and £3000 out of pocket. One of the passengers said she finds herself ‘waking up crying’ and still suffers from back and chest pain and sleepless nights as a result of the crash.
Page’s lawyer, Daniel Reilly, told the court that the van driver had turned to alcohol as he went through a break up with his partner, but admitted that ‘it was good fortune matters were not more serious’.
The danger driver plead guilty to five charges including dangerous driving, failing to provide a breath specimen, failing to stop and driving without due care and attention.
Page has been sentenced to 14 months and banned from driving for three years.
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