Darren Lock: Diabetic driver impaled William Dawkins on railings after losing control when his blood sugar plummeted
A diabetic driver has been jailed after he lost control of his car and impaled a pedestrian on railings when his blood sugar level plummeted while he was at the wheel.
Darren Lock, 41, from Rushden, had already struck a lamppost and was driving with his front bumper dragging along the road when he hit William Dawkins, 46, in Bedford last June.
Lock gave false information to a nurse about his blood sugar levels on the morning of the collision, which left Mr Dawkins in intensive care suffering a punctured lung, broken limbs and broken vertebrae in his neck, a court heard today.
A judge said the pedestrian was 'very lucky to be alive' after the incident.
Mr Dawkins spent a week in intensive care where he was treated for two broken vertebrae in his neck, a punctured lung, a burst artery in his left arm, a broken left arm and broken leg.
More... Third of parents won't let their children walk to school because of fears about speeding cars Town council pays £7,000 of taxpayers' cash for clerk's private neck operation because she would have to wait six weeks for NHS treatmentIT Consultant Lock from Rushden, was jailed for six months and banned from driving for three years, with an order that he must take an extended retest, after admitting to dangerous driving at Luton Crown Court today.
His lawyer Mark Nicholls said the married father of two had been suffering from 'hypoglycemic automatism' when he struck Mr Dawkins at around half past ten at night on June 28 last year.
He said: 'He drifted into hypoglycemia without being aware of it. He is truly sorry. If he could swap places he would do so in an instant. He has given up his licence and expresses great remorse.'
Prosecutor Kevin Barry said that Lock had seen a nurse that morning about his type one diabetes and had given her false information about his blood sugar levels. He then caught the train to work in London, returning to Bedford at around 10pm.
Despite knowing his blood sugar levels were low, Lock drove his maroon VW Passatt out into Ashburnham Road where he hit a lamppost at the zebra crossing.
Then he drove off and clipped the wing mirror of a Peugeot with his front bumper dragging along the road.
'Deeply remorseful': Lock, 41, from Rushden, was jailed for six months after admitting dangerous driving at Luton Crown Court today'As the car went into Bromham Road he caused another driver to swerve.
DRIVING WITH A MEDICAL CONDITION: THE LAWDrivers in the UK are required to inform the DVLA if they have a 'notifiable' medical condition or disability.
The list of notifiable conditions includes some forms of diabetes, along with epilepsy, strokes and other neurological conditions, mental health problems, physical disabilities and visual impairments.
Government guidelines state that licence-holders must inform the DVLA if they have diabetes that is treated by insulin.
Car and motorcycle licence-holders with diabetes that is treated by tablets or non-insulin injections are not required to let the DVLA know, but bus, car and lorry driver licence-holders must flag up their condition.
Drivers are also required to let the DVLA know if they develop a new condition, or if an existing condition gets worse.
The Agency may then contact the driver's doctor before making a decision on whether they must surrender their licence, exchange it for a shorter period licence subject to reviews, or have their vehicle specially adapted in light of their condition.
Then he collided with Mr Dawkins, sending him into the railings on the pavement.
'He was detached from the railings and spent a week in intensive care,' said Mr Barry.
Lock's blood sugar level was tested and found to be 1.8, which is very low. He had a zero reading for alcohol.
The prosecutor said that as a type 1 diabetic Lock should have informed the DVLA of his condition but they had no records.
Mr Nicholls said Lock had 'drifted into hypoglycemia without being aware of it'. He said he had controlled his diabetes for the past 17 years and worked as an IT professional earning over £40,000 a year. Lock had handed back his licence and does not intend to apply again, he said.
He had one previous conviction from May 1999 when he failed to stop after an accident on his way to his wedding.
Jailing him, Judge Richard Foster said: 'You knew that morning that your blood sugar level was not as it should be. You should have checked your blood sugar levels before you drove. You knew full well the dangers of what you did.
'You came out of Bedford station in a state of automatism. Another driver had a narrow escape and Mr Dawkins is very lucky to be alive.'
The court was told that Mr Dawkins' claim for compensation is being dealt with by Lock's insurance company.
