Dangerous driver banned after crashing twice

Newbury man and his friend both reprimanded for their actions

A NEWBURY man, who almost crashed his car into a woman and her nine-year-old daughter, has been banned from the roads after pleading guilty to dangerous and careless driving.

Matthew Freemantle, of Andover Road, caused two accidents through his actions, Newbury magistrates heard.

On the first occasion, in July last year, witnesses described seeing the 26-year-old driving his Volkswagen Golf aggressively on the A4, before taking a sharp right-hand turn at speed.

He “bounced off” another vehicle waiting to come out of the junction, before losing control of his car and crashing into a fence.

The court heard how Mr Freemantle had to swerve to narrowly avoid ploughing into two terrified pedestrians – a mother and her young child.

Jennifer Riddell, prosecuting, said Mr Freemantle had overtaken two vehicles on the A4 and thought he’d seen a police car, so decided to turn into Hawthorn Road.

She added that he later told police he “wanted to stop” but was “scared he was going to get told off”.

He didn’t learn from his lesson though, and three months later was involved in another crash, this time injuring himself and writing-off his car.

This time, Mr Freemantle had seen a friend, Adam Masson, in his new Honda Civic.

Mr Masson, aged 22, of Barn Crescent, also appeared in court last week, charged with careless driving, for his part in the incident on October 30 last year.

The court heard that when Mr Masson drove off, Mr Freemantle followed him at speed, along the A4.

One witness statement described the two men ‘racing’ and travelling at speeds of up to 60mph in a 40mph limit.

The court heard how Mr Masson had successfully navigated the roundabout outside B&Q on the London Road, but that Mr Freemantle lost control of his car and ‘fishtailed’ before hitting a pillar.

Firefighters had to cut Mr Freemantle out of the wrecked remains of his vehicle, but he only sustained minor injuries in the smash.

He told police he was driving fast to keep up with Mr Masson and had an adrenaline rush.

Mike Davis, defending Mr Freemantle, said: “He says he does not remember anything except the roof being cut off by the fire service.

“These are two very, very, very bad pieces of driving, but maybe the focus of his punishment should be his ability to drive a car in the future.

“On the second occasion, Mr Masson is showing off and Mr Freemantle is trying to keep up but has a slower car.

Mr Davis added that his client, who used to work as a part-time delivery driver for Dominos, had dyslexia, dyspraxia and depression.

Mr Freemantle admitted one charge of dangerous driving, one charge of careless driving and another charge of failing to stop.

He was given an interim driving ban and released on bail to be sentenced at a later date.

Mr Masson pleaded guilty to careless driving.

Magistrates decided not to impose a driving ban and instead issue him with six penalty points.

Mr Masson, who was representing himself in court, already had nine points on his licence for previous speeding offences, however, and as a result of exceeding the 12 points allowed, he lost his licence.

The court heard how he was previously given six points in August 2014, after being caught doing 105mph on the motorway.

He also got three points for travelling at 75mph in a 50mph limit in July 2013.

He admitted “cutting the roundabout” but insisted he was not racing Mr Freemantle.