A dangerous driver was caught on his dashcam footage saying “Oh my days!” after a high-speed crash into a railway bridge.
Robert McKee was banned from driving for 18 months by Brighton Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.
The court was shown the footage, which began with him driving at speeds of up to 57mph along Hollingdean Road on May 1 this year.
As he took the bend under the railway bridge by the Cityclean depot, he crashed into the brick wall and came to a halt as horrified pedestrians looked on.
Prosecuting, Julia French said: “The driver lost control and collided with a brick wall taking out a traffic barrier.
“There’s dashcam footage from within the car, with loud electronic music playing.
“It shows he was driving at a top speed of 57mph, and taking the bend at 46mph. You can see a number of pedestrians coming into view which indicates the level of danger involved in this case.”
A member of the public helped detain McKee and he was then arrested by officers. He completed a roadside breath test which showed he was below the legal drink-drive limit.
The court was told McKee has no previous convictions, and believes he was suffering from depression at the time of the crash.
He had moved out of the family home in Crawley two weeks before and moved to Brighton, where he was unfamiliar with the roads.
He is now living with family in Sheffield, and training to be an electrician.
Chair of the bench Simon Thorpe said: “This is clearly a man in need of some help and direction.”
As well as the driving ban, he was ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) days and pay a £750 fine, £300 surcharge and £85 costs, leaving him with a £1,135 court bill, which he has agreed to pay £100 a month towards.
Chief Inspector Chris Tinney from the Roads Policing Unit said: “McKee put the safety of himself and other road users at risk with his appalling driving.
“He admitted himself that his driving was dangerous and I am pleased to now see this conviction at court.
“Speeding is a major factor for one in three serious injury or fatal collisions in Sussex. McKee was incredibly lucky that he did not add to that sobering statistic.
“He has had to pay a high price for his actions, and we are pleased that a dangerous driver has been taken off our roads.
“I would like to thank the members of the public for helping us to identify and detain McKee as the driver of the vehicle.”
Wow, 57mph in a 20mph limit. His reason for the accident was that he wasn’t a local and so unfamiliar with the roads. Well, that is a reason for driving more carefully and not speeding!
To be fair his language was very reasonable – I think if I’d crashed at speed, after going across a well-used pavement and hit a bridge, my wording would be far more colourful than “Oh my days”
This is a busy area for pedestrians, even at night, as the number who detained him shows. It is lucky that no-one else was injured