‘Idiot’ young man ‘drove like a maniac’ on country roads leaving his passenger seriously injured

He was driving at ‘horrifying’ speeds before he lost control of the car, the court heard

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A speeding motorist “drove like a maniac” on country roads while “full of drugs” before suddenly crashing his car – and leaving his frightened passenger seriously injured. The “idiotic” young driver had taken Ketamine and he “had a look in his eyes” when he recklessly hurtled along roads at “horrifying” speeds before losing control of the car, Hull Crown Court heard.

Kacper Deregowski, 23, admitted causing serious injury to his passenger by dangerous driving on Nine Dikes Road, Burton Fleming, near Bridlington, on December 30. He also admitted driving while over the limit for Ketamine.

Beatrice Allsop, prosecuting, said that Deregowski agreed to give another young man a lift from Hessle to Filey at 11.30am. The passenger was paying £60 for the lift and he was aware that Deregowski was a regular drug user.

Deregowski drove the silver VW Golf, belonging to his father, at a fast speed but the passenger was not too concerned about this because the roads were quiet. He overtook a Volvo, with his wheels spinning, on a crossroads before pulling away from it.

The driver of the Volvo did not even see Deregowski in her rear view mirror until he was right behind her car. His car “continued to gather speed” despite the undulating road.

There was a 50-metre-long dip and, shortly after that, Deregowski had to swerve to avoid another vehicle in front of him. The passenger told him: “Chill the f*** out” – but Deregowski “had a look in his eyes”.

The worried man filmed Deregowski but accepted that there was going to be a crash. The car went sideways and started to roll and the passenger hit his head and lost consciousness.

He woke up to find a tree branch in his face. The Volvo driver saw Deregowski’s car “rolling in a field” in front of her. “She stopped and her husband called 999,” said Miss Allsop.

The car was on its roof on the opposite side of the road. About 20 to 25 metres of hedgerows had been flattened. The young passenger was bleeding from his head and he was receiving first aid from a member of the public.

He had a wound over his left eyebrow area, swelling over his left eye socket and his ribs were tender. He was taken to Scarborough Hospital, where he was found to have fractures to his eye socket areas.

Deregowski was bleeding from his knees. He later tested negative for alcohol but positive for Ketamine.

Henry Fernandez, mitigating, said that Deregowski was aged 22 at the time of the crash and there was a “prospect of rehabilitation” because he was a relatively young man. Mr Fernandez asked for Deregowski to be spared prison. “It’s a fine line,” he said.

Judge Gurdial Singh said that video footage was “horrifying” and Deregowski was an “idiot” for the way he drove. “He knows that he should not have got into that vehicle,” said Judge Singh.

Deregowski was under the influence of Ketamine and he showed “stupidity” by driving significantly faster than the speed limit. “You drove like an idiot – far too fast for the road conditions,” said Judge Singh.

Deregowski “flew up behind a Volvo” and overtook it. “She did not see you in her wing mirror until you were upon her,” said Judge Singh. “You did negotiate her vehicle, thankfully, without any further mishap.

“The police say that because of the nature of the road, even had you been driving at the speed limit, there is no guarantee that you would not have come off the road.” The car started to go sideways and began to roll.

There was no sign of Deregowski braking before the crash, police discovered. “It’s clear that you did not have time to do that,” said Judge Singh.

“What caused it was you driving at an idiotic speed, full of drugs – simple as that. It was you driving at far in excess of the speed limit that was the cause of this accident.”

Deregowski, of Hope Street, Filey, was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, 150 hours’ unpaid work and 15 days’ rehabilitation. He must pass an extended retest before he can drive legally again and he must pay a £187 victims’ surcharge.

“I appreciate you have a fascination with vehicles but you should have thought about that before you drove like a maniac,” said Judge Singh.