Drug driver hit car of school run mother

Stephen Lippitt accepted that he had misjudged the situation and said that he was late for work.

A court was told that a test for alcohol was negative but he was found to have a metabolite of cocaine in his blood from the night before.

Lippitt, 37, formerly of Weston Rhyn, but now of Cherry Tree Drive in St Martin’s, Oswestry, admitted driving a Peugeot 307 in Station Road, Bangor-on-Dee on September 19 when he had 624 miligrammes of BZE in his blood compared to the legal limit of 50, without insurance.

He was banned from driving for 26 months at North East Wales Magistrates’ Court at Mold and was placed on a 12-month community order, under which he must carry out 170 hours unpaid work.

Lippitt was ordered to pay £85 costs and an £85 surcharge.

District Judge Gwyn Jones said that Lippitt was under the influence of drugs from the night before and overtook in inappropriate circumstances.

There had been a high speed collision and he had placed members of the public at risk, the judge said.

Damage

Prosecutor Rhian Jones told how the collision occurred at 8.25 am when a woman was driving her three children to school.

She slowed down and signalled to turn right but as she did so the defendant attempted to overtake her and collided with the off-side, causing damage.

At the scene, Lippitt immediately said that it was his fault, that he was driving too fast and that he was late for work.

There had been substantial damage but the other driver had to claim off her own insurance because the defendant was not insured.

She needed physiotherapy and one of the children also had a painful neck and shoulder.

Stephen Edwards, defending, said that his client was a man of good character who had held a clean driving licence since his early 20s.

He was "deeply ashamed of his behaviour and accepted that he misjudged the situation".