Careless Penrith driver asked accident witnesses to ‘not call police’

At Carlisle's Rickergate court, the lawyer representing 28-year-old Jamie Ellwood, who left the scene of the accident after asking witnesses to not call the police, said the offending was down to a "momentary lapse" in judgement. Ellwood also admitted failing to stop after an accident and failing to report it. Prosecutor George Shelley outlined the facts.

He said the defendant had initially denied any wrongdoing connected to the accident on April 10 last year but then changed his pleas to guilty. Describing what happened, Mr Shelley said construction workers were on a northbound slip road at Junction 39 south of Penrith when they heard screeching tyres, after which they saw the defendant's Mitsubishi driving up the slip road. "The vehicle knocked down a road sign and went through a roadside fence, coming to a stop 20 metres into the field," said Mr Shelley.

"The witnesses ran over to see if the driver was okay and told Mr Ellwood to calm down as they could see he was in shock." One of the workers tried but failed to reverse the car out of the field. The group then saw the defendant removing his car's number plates as he asked them to made the request to refrain from contacting the police. "He left the scene and police were called," said Mr Shelley. Police found Ellwood the following morning.

Adele Graham, defending said the defendant, who works as a tree surgeon, was subjected to monthly drugs tests by his current employer and he had passed them all since starting that job over a year ago. "The incident wasn't deliberate," said Miss Graham. "It was as momentary lapse in judgement and there was no intent to evade responsibility.

Rather, it was more panic." She said the level of carelessness was at the lower end of the scale. Given the defendant's job was as a tree surgeon, a driving ban would lead to the loss of that employment, added the lawyer. Deputy District Judge Thomas Moran told Ellwood, of Green Croft, Askham, near Penrith, he will not lose his licence.

But the offending, said the judge, would prove to be an "expensive mistake".

He fined Elwood GBP200 for the careless driving, another GBP200 for the failing to report the accident, and imposed costs of GBP85 and a GBP160 victim surcharge.