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Dangerous driver jailed after after causing head-on collision in Sevenoaks while texting

A partying painter returning home after a night boozing and drug taking caused a head-on collision in Sevenoaks .

And when Aurimas Stipinas was asked how the crash had happened he confessed: "I was texting."

Stipinas was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court. Picture: Kent Police
Stipinas was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court. Picture: Kent Police

Now the 26-year-old has been jailed for two years after admitting injuring a Fiat 500 driver in the crash in February at Rushmore Hill.

Stipinas, from North London, was at the wheel of his speeding Citroen Picasso - on the wrong side of the road when it struck the Fiat.

The car was spun around and left facing the opposite direction, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Natasha Hausdorff told how the driver suffered a fracture to her spine in the horror smash.

Stipinas was tested for drugs by police and found to have cocaine and cannabis in his body.

Aurimas Stipinas admitted he was texting when the crash happened. Picture: iStock image
Aurimas Stipinas admitted he was texting when the crash happened. Picture: iStock image

In court he admitted two counts of driving a vehicle while over the prescribed limit for drugs and causing serious injury by driving dangerously, as well as driving without insurance.

Ms Hausdorf added that police put out a plea for witnesses via Twitter and were contacted by Oliver and Hanna Hine.

"They told of seeing Stipinas' car driving dangerously on the wrong side of the road.

"Their police statements indicate that a dark grey vehicle overtook them from behind a roundabout, driving the wrong side of a traffic bollard.

"They noted his vehicle was driving extremely dangerously and very fast; oncoming traffic which slowed to avoid a head-on collision and they noted a near miss with an oncoming cyclist, who was left very shaken."

Stipinas was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court
Stipinas was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court

The Fiat driver later told police: "The grey vehicle came around the corner and was entirely on my side of the road. I tried to brake hard, however I could do nothing to avoid a collision."

She added that Stipinas' driving was "dangerous, erratic and very abnormal".

Her Fiat was pushed into a fence and began spinning.

She added: "Immediately after the accident I felt pressure in my lower legs and I had severe pain in my neck and back.

"I panicked and managed to push open my car door to get out. I collapsed by the side of the road due to the pain."

"I tried to brake hard, however I could do nothing to avoid a collision..."

Stipinas' uncle, Saulias Petrauskas, who was also in his car, was knocked unconscious in the smash and suffered broken ribs and cuts.

Stipinas later told police he had been to a party where he had drank alcohol "smoked weed and sniffed coke" and believed he had overdosed.

Asked to explain the accident, he told officers he was texting a friend at the time.

Kieran Brand, defending, said: "He is now deeply ashamed and remorseful."

Judge Stephen Thomas, in banning him from driving for three years, said: "It is difficult to imagine a more reckless way of driving."

Speaking after sentencing, PC Belinda Croft said: "Stipinas irresponsible and reckless behaviour could easily have had fatal consequences.

"As it is, his passenger and the victim in the other car have suffered some very serious injuries which could have profound health implications for the rest of their lives.

"The results of his blood test were alarming and prove he was clearly not in a fit state to drive.

"He has shown absolutely no regard for the safety of fellow roads users and a custodial sentence was therefore inevitable."

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