Man given suspended sentence after a head-on car crash in Northamptonshire with three-year-old daughter in back seat

A man was catapulted through his own windscreen after causing a head-on collision while overtaking a lorry on a Northamptonshire road.
Ingus Serds, 27, volunteered to drive the car after his friend had been drinking.Ingus Serds, 27, volunteered to drive the car after his friend had been drinking.
Ingus Serds, 27, volunteered to drive the car after his friend had been drinking.

The driver was launched through the windscreen while the passengers, including a three-year-old girl, all suffered injuries.

Ingus Serds, 27, from Leicester, was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (March 16) having previously pleaded guilty to driving offences.

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On the night of the incident in April 2016, Serds and his friends were driving back from Leicester. He volunteered to drive as his friend had been drinking. The other passengers included a young woman and Serds' three-year-old daughter.

He was driving on the A427 towards Corby and tried to overtake a lorry by steering into the other lane, unaware of two cars travelling in the other direction.

Serds missed the first car, whose driver swerved to avoid him, but he collided head-on with the second car.

Serds, who was not wearing a seatbelt and was not insured to drive his friend's car, was flung through the windscreen. He suffered lacerations to his liver and to an artery at the back of his knee.

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The young woman in Serds' car broke her collarbone and later required plastic surgery due to injuries sustained from the broken glass.

The other driver fractured two discs in her spine, but later made a full recovery.

In sentencing, Judge Rupert Mayo said: "You took a singularly bad decision to overtake an HGV. It was dark, there were road signs warning of a dip in the road and there was a white line in the middle of the road, meaning that you should not overtake.

"You were not wearing a seatbelt and were catapulted from the car, sustaining very serious injuries. You're lucky to be alive.

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"Your friends and family paint a very good picture of you. You are qualified. You are raising a young family. There is no evidence of racing or excessive speed."

Serds was sentenced to 20 months, suspended for two years, as well as 200 hours unpaid work.

He was also suspended from driving for two years.