Corby man Michael Rooney who was once involved in near-fatal crash is banned from driving again

A young man from Corby who was previously involved in a near-fatal smash has been caught again behind the wheel.

Michael Rooney, now 20, was banned from driving in 2020 after the car he was in collided with another vehicle on the A43, causing serious injuries to the other driver.

But earlier this week Rooney, of Chelveston Drive and formerly of Stanion Lane, was again before magistrates to face charges of driving without valid insurance and on a provisional licence without ‘L’ plates.

Northampton Magistrates’ Court heard how police had stopped Rooney in a Hyundai in Glebe Avenue, Broughton, in October last year. They discovered he had not passed his driving test and had there was no insurance.

The case was found proven under the single justice procedure.

Rooney was fined £1,300 and given eight points on his licence as well as a mandatory 12 month ban for being a repeat offender.

The court was told that the defendant had been involved in a serious collision that left Helen Worley, then 52, with life-changing injuries. Rooney walked away from the crash but Helen was taken to Coventry University Hospital with a broken ankle, a broken wrist, a broken pelvis, five breaks to her right femur, two broken vertebrae, an open wound and break under the knee and was left with a speech impediment after biting down hard on her tongue.

After undergoing dozens of hours of surgery, she spent six months in Coventry, Kettering and Isebrook Hospitals and was left with ongoing pain and injuries.

Almost two years after the crash, in 2020, Rooney finally admitted to Northampton Magistrates’ Court that he had been driving the brand new grey Audi A5, thought to be worth more than £40,000, with no insurance on the day of the crash. He was also accused of making a false statement to the DLA to obtain a driving licence in April 2018, when he was aged only 15.

Although the legal driving age is normally 17, the law allows children to pass their test from the date of their 16th birthday if they receive the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance. Rooney fraudulently claimed he was in receipt of this benefit so he could legally drive the 18-plate Audi after he turned 16 in May 2018.

He denied the offences for nearly two years, and then pleaded guilty to both charges on the day his trial was due to take place. He could only be publicly named once he had turned 18.

At that hearing he was given six points on his licence which meant he was subject to a nine-month driving ban. He was also given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £325 in fines and fees. No charges were ever brought over the manner of his driving on the day of the crash.

Rooney also has a previous conviction for harassment and assault that happened in Kettering in August 2021. He was given an electronic curfew and a community order for that offence.