How Corby man Hugo Fernandes drank beer and shots, scored coke and was warned four times he was too drunk to drive before mowing down pals on a zebra crossing

A court has today heard the shocking details of how a man ploughed into a group of pals on a zebra crossing in Corby.

Hugo Fernandes, 36, has been jailed for seven years and one month for attempted GBH and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The court was shown CCTV of his movements before the incident on June 24.

Here is the timeline of how the tragic events of that night unfolded.

Friday, June 24, 2022

12.39pm – Hugo Fernandes arrives with his then partner at the Spread Eagle pub in Oakley Road. He is seen drinking ‘significant’ amounts of alcohol. The prosecution said that the exact amount he was drinking was unknown, but that it was at least four pints and four shots between the time he arrived and an hour later when he left the pub.

1.42pm – Fernandes leaves the pub.

6.50pm – He arrives back at the pub and is seen by a member of staff driving into the car park ‘much too fast’. He is in his father’s red Vauxhall Insignia, which he is uninsured to drive.

8.20pm – Fernandes and his partner are seen drinking pints and shots at the bar. He has at least five pints and three shots. The pair have an argument and his partner complains to staff that Fernandes is drinking even though it was her turn to drink, and his turn to stay sober enough to drive.

9.10pm – His partner leaves Fernandes at the bar and tells staff to take his keys and not give them back as he is unfit to drive. A member of bar staff then tells Fernandes he’s had too much to drink and they’ll no longer serve him alcohol and that he cannot drive home.

10.12pm – Fernandes tells bar staff his house key is on his keyring and he needs it to get inside his home so they return his key to him. He’s then seen leaving the pub and angrily smashing a glass outside in the car park. He uses his phone to tell his former partner that she has ‘handed his key in and left him to rot.’

10.16pm – A fellow drinker from the Spread Eagle gets into the car with Fernandes and the pair drive off.

10.26pm – Fernandes rings a man stored in his phone as ‘Paddy Dealer’ for 24 seconds.

10.34pm – CCTV captures Fernandes driving on the wrong side of the road before mounting the pavement and driving along it for several metres at Welland Vale Shops. Members of the public look on, concerned, as the car eventually comes to rest in a parking bay. Fernandes is then shown getting out of the car with his pal before he urinates up against the shop window. They try to buy more drink but the shopkeeper tells them to leave and remonstrates with Fernandes about his actions.

10.35pm – The pair get back into the car but the pal gets into the back seat because he is concerned about Fernandes’s fitness to drive. The shopkeeper phones police to tell them what he’s seen. The pair drive off in the direction of Rockingham Road.

11.02pm – The car arrives at the Cardigan Arms car park in The Jamb where Fernandes has gone to buy cocaine. The men get out of the vehicle and walk down the street to Decades nighclub, where CCTV shows them dressed in polo shirts, shorts and trainers, chatting to the bouncers. They are refused entry so make their way back down The Jamb to the Cardigan Arms.

11.08pm – They get back to the Cardigan Arms pub and are then seen on camera leaving by a staff entrance, Fernandes with a wrap of coke in his hand. A member of pub staff follows them out and is seen putting the bins out before he waves to them as they leave. They drive off in the direction of Cottingham Road, at speeds of up to 60mph in a 30mph limit.

11.12pm – A group of friends is crossing the Cottingham Road zebra crossing after a night out. Fernandes is seen on CCTV overtaking a car that had stopped to let them cross and ploughing straight into them. Three friends fall to the ground and one is carried on his bonnet with his head and shoulders through the windscreen. He then drives off up Elizabeth Street and Alexandra Road where he leaves the boy for dead and drives off.

11.15pm – Fernandes begins repeatedly calling his former partner. He sends her a message that says ‘I’ve no keys, you left me.’ He phones his mum for six minutes and then his partner a further five times.

11.40pm – He makes a nine-minute call to his partner, followed by two more calls to her. He then dumps his car at the boating lake. Two of the victims’ phones are found inside the car having been thrown there by the impact of the smash. Hair and blood are found on the windscreen.

Midnight – Fernandes arrives home and his parents arrive there just afterwards. He changes his clothing and the key to the car is found on the floor. When police arrive he refuses to do a breath test. He is arrested and taken to the police station where he is found to have 84mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Saturday, June 25

Fernandes is released under investigation and goes to see his former partner. He tells her that when the boy was impaled in his windscreen, he had to stop in Alexandra Road to kick him off the bonnet. He told her he hadn’t braked when he hit them and he seemed more concerned about a cut to his leg. He told her he’d nothing to lose and would go on a rampage.

Monday, June 27

Fernandes is re-arrested and makes no comment in interview. Because of concerns over his comments to his girlfriend and his ability to flee, he is remanded in custody.

Thursday, September 27

Fernandes is sentenced to seven years and one month in jail for the incident. He is also banned from driving for more than ten years.