Man jailed for three years after causing serious injury by dangerous driving

A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison and disqualified from driving for more than 11 years after his dangerous driving seriously injured another driver.

Romans Lazarevs, of The Cherwell in Daventry, was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen for analysis following the collision on the A45 Flore bypass on December 16, 2023.

At about 6.45pm, Lazarevs was driving on the westbound carriageway towards Daventry from the M1 motorway, when he overtook another driver.

As a result of Lazarevs’ manoeuvre, his white Ford Transit van collided head-on collision with the driver of a silver Volkswagen Polo travelling in the opposite direction, causing his vehicle to catapult over a barrier and land on the grass verge.

The woman driver of the Polo was trapped for about an hour and had to be extracted from her car by firefighters before being taken to University Hospital Coventry with serious ankle injuries.

When officers from Northamptonshire Roads Policing Team arrived Lazarevs was on the grass verge near his van. As they spoke to him, they suspected he had been drinking as he appeared to slur his words and was unsteady on his feet.

He was arrested on suspicion of drink driving, however he refused to consent for a blood sample to be taken at Northampton General Hospital and was subsequently charged with failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

Following an investigation, Lazarevs was also charged via a postal requisition with causing serious injury by dangerous driving and appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on June 3 this year.

At this hearing, Lazarevs pleaded guilty, and his case was committed to Northampton Crown Court for sentencing. On Thursday, August 15, he was handed a three-year prison term and disqualified from driving for 11 years and six months.

Lazarevs, who will have to pass an extended driving test once he has served his ban before being able to get behind the wheel again, was also ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge.

Lead investigator, PC Tom Williams of the Roads Policing Team, said: “The manner of Lazarevs’ driving that evening fell below the legal requirements as he drove dangerously and recklessly putting the lives of innocent road users at risk.

“His selfish actions also changed the life of the other driver forever. The serious injuries she sustained because of this traumatic incident have caused her long-term issues which she has to live with on a day-to-day basis.

“I hope that the victim can take some solace from this sentence, and I hope Lazarevs is aware that as result of his reckless use of the road, he was fortunate that his actions did not leave a family grieving for their loved one.”

Tragically in 2023, after being involved in a road collision in Northamptonshire, 29 people never returned home safely to their loved ones, and 271 required urgent medical assistance for serious and life-changing injuries.