Man jailed for dangerous driving resulting in a woman seriously injured

A man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison today, Monday 4 December, following a road collision in Sefton where a woman was seriously injured.

At around 7.45am on 9^th December last year, emergency services were called to Sandy Road in Seaforth to reports that a woman had been involved in a collision with a Renault Kangoo van as she walked to work.

The 26-year-old pedestrian suffered serious injuries, and she was taken to hospital in a critical condition and she is continuing to recover from life changing injuries.

The driver of the van remained at the scene and following an investigation, Aaron Qureshi, 31 years, of Sandringham Road in Waterloo was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He pleaded guilty at a hearing in Sefton Magistrates Court in October.

Today, he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court and was sentenced to three years and two months for the offence.  He was also disqualified from driving for five years and seven months.

Detective Sergeant Kurt Timpson, Lead Investigating Officer from Merseyside Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “Our thoughts remain very much with injured pedestrian and her family. It has been a very difficult 12 months for them as their lives have been changed forever by this incident, and they have been supported by a specially trained Family Liaison Officer throughout the case.

“I would like to thank members of the public who rushed to help her that morning and whose actions may have saved her life.

“The speed and manner of driving by Qureshi that morning was grossly excessive and inappropriate and has been found in open court to be dangerous. To drive at almost three times the speed limit is a risk no person should ever contemplate. In addition, he drove in icy conditions knowing the risks were high. His actions have left a young female with numerous life changing injuries.”

Detective Sergeant Timpson added: “I would ask that as drivers, we all reflect on how we use our vehicles on the road. Excess speed devastates lives and causes unimaginable harm to people who become involved in road crashes. Not one of us would want to be involved in such incidents and we must change driving behaviour to reduce that harm.

“Merseyside Police will not tolerate drivers who deliberately ignore the rules of the road and are committed to the prevention of serious injury and road death, to work towards Vision Zero – our strategy focused on driving down the amount of road traffic collisions in our regions and to lower the number of people killed and seriously injured on our streets. 

“However, this is something that we must all do in partnership. Communities can also take a stand and help us to make the roads safer. We know how much you want to help us, so that we can ensure roads and shared spaces are used responsibly and that people abide by the laws we enforce.”