A drink-driver "catastrophically ruined" a teenage girl’s life after causing a horror crash that almost killed her – then fled the scene and lied to police about being carjacked.

Plumber Luke Humphries was double the legal limit from downing four pints in a pub when his VW Scirocco careered into the path of a Ford Fiesta, catapulting it across the A256 in Deal and into oncoming traffic.

The force of the impact caused the 16-year-old front-seat passenger to be flung out of her door, unconscious, with the seatbelt wrapped around her neck, her thigh bone shattered and teeth broken.

But instead of helping, Humphries, then 19, heartlessly walked off after denying he was responsible when officers arrived at the scene.

Then, having been traced to his home just 30 minutes later after checks revealed him to be the registered owner of the VW, he concocted what even his own lawyer described as an "absurd and stupid" account of being robbed of his car.

Canterbury Crown Court heard his elaborate ruse included claims of being threatened with weapons, abandoned at the roadside and having to walk for two hours.

However, his story soon unravelled when it was realised not only that his timings "didn't add up" but that he had been captured at the crash scene on police bodyworn camera.

He also gave a reading of 69 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath when the legal limit is 35, and forensic tests on the Scirocco airbag revealed he had been at the wheel.

Now, the 21-year-old has been locked up after a judge told him his young victim, who had feared losing her leg, was lucky to have not been killed instantly.

She and the driver of the Fiesta were heading along the A256 Eastry bypass from Dover to Sandwich when the smash occurred at about 11.15pm on January 6 last year at the junction of Felderland Lane.

Prosecutor Emily Farley told the court that as Humphries ignored the Give Way sign and pulled out onto the main road at high speed, he lost control and crashed into the front passenger side of the Fiesta.

This caused the vehicle to spin onto the opposite side of the carriageway and to face oncoming traffic in the darkness.

"The victim was thrown out of the passenger door of the vehicle (Fiesta) and was unconscious at the time. The seatbelt she was wearing was wrapped around her neck," said Ms Farley.

"Both vehicles were catastrophically damaged and written off as a result of the collision."

Meanwhile, Humphries’ car continued across the road before spinning off and crashing rear-first into a tree.

The court heard police arrived and spoke to him but he denied being the driver and walked off.

However, the prosecutor said that having soon been identified as the Scirocco owner, officers went to his home just over a mile away.

"At 11.44pm he arrived, was intoxicated and his shoes were covered in mud," she explained.

"He claimed to have been the victim of an armed robbery whereby two males had jumped out in front of his vehicle, armed with weapons and a hammer, threatened him and driven off in his car, leaving him at the roadside.

"He told officers his phone had been stolen - he hadn't been able to locate it and may have been in the vehicle - and he had had to walk two hours home.

"He said it was for this reason he hadn't made contact with anyone."

But Ms Farley said inquiries soon revealed his account was "very clearly unsubstantiated and didn't add up".

Humphries, of Woodnesborough, was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, drink-driving and failing to stop.

He was also charged with fraud in relation to providing false information to Direct Line insurance in respect of the collision.

All I can remember is agony and the feeling of my shattered leg. I do nothing but cry in frustration. I struggle to see hope for my future...

However, the offence, which he denied, was left on the court file and no details were provided during the sentencing hearing on Tuesday (April 1).

The young victim spent 12 days in hospital and had to undergo surgery to pin her right leg, which is now scarred and shorter than the other.

She was not in court but two impact statements in which she detailed how her independence had been "stripped away" were read on her behalf.

Each described not only the pain and suffering she had endured but also what she felt was the "humiliating and dehumanising" consequence of having to be cared for by her parents.

The teenager, now 17, also had to quit her travel and tourism course because her college could not accommodate crutches or a wheelchair, and saw her hopes of becoming a flight attendant dashed.

More than a year on, she struggles to find work due to her mobility issues.

A month after the smash, she wrote: "My life has been catastrophically ruined. I don't know and can't see how my life can return to normal after that other car and driver caused me so much harm.

"All I can remember is agony and the feeling of my shattered leg. I do nothing but cry in frustration. I struggle to see hope for my future.

"Mentally, I have never felt so isolated or alone. I'm so sad. Sometimes I feel numb and sometimes all I feel is anger and despair.

"I still cannot make sense of the fact that someone could do something so stupid and reckless.

"I'm disgusted someone could consider driving in this way while sober, let alone while having been drinking.

"It haunts me that such reckless and nasty people exist."

In a more recent statement made just last month, she described that she is still nervous in a car, suffers from insomnia, and that her "whole life has been turned upside-down".

The court heard that the driver of the Fiesta was also injured, albeit to a lesser degree with cuts and bruising, and has suffered flashbacks.

Humphries was said by his barrister, Nicholas Hamblin, to want to make "a full apology" for what happened that night.

But he argued that notwithstanding the "very unpleasant" injuries sustained and "the absurdity of a lie fuelled by panic", a suspended sentence could be imposed on someone who was hard-working, with a supportive family, no previous convictions and savings of £3,000 available for compensation.

Mr Hamblin told the court: "He was perhaps under some peer pressure, met up with some friends, had four pints of alcohol over a five-hour period.

"His memory of the incident is hazy but he does accept that his stupid lie was something that will leave him deeply ashamed for the rest of his life.

"He made a substantial error but in the balancing exercise he was a man of good character before he entered his guilty plea."

Concluding that there was a "real chance of rehabilitation" and continuing employment, Mr Hamblin urged: "We invite the court to give him a once and only chance to retain his liberty."

However, Judge Edmund Fowler said despite his age, remorse and numerous character references, immediate custody was inevitable for what was a "highly dangerous and drink-impaired manoeuvre" that "gave nobody any chance" to avoid and left a teenage girl with "quite devastating" injuries.

Jailing Humphries for two-and-a-half years, he told him: "You took the decision to drive home from the pub when you were clearly incapable of controlling your vehicle.

"Your actions led to the other car being catapulted across the road to face oncoming traffic.

"Your reaction wasn't to run to those injured and to assist but to run off and concoct some ridiculous account of being a victim of robbery to evade responsibility for what you had done."

Humphries was also banned from driving for three years and three months.