Dashcam video captures shocking moment drink-driver smashes into car and flips it on A14 in Cambridgeshire
Video footage captured the shocking moment a drink-driver smashed into another car at speed, causing it to explode and flip over on the A14 at Bar Hill
Nilen Chauhan, 27, was seen “absolutely flooring it” in his Volkswagen Polo moments before slamming into the back of a Mitsubishi L200.
The impact meant the Mitsubishi slid on its roof before coming to a stop.
Incredibly, the driver escaped and walked away from the collision, which happened at about 6.35am on 14 September last year.
The victim’s head was covered in blood as he told officers he had been driving in lane four when the crash happened.
“I was just driving in a straight line and the last minute…I just see it,” he said. “I was absolutely upside down and my head was scraping along the floor.”
Witnesses told how they saw Chauhan, of Westrow Gardens, Ilford, Greater London, weaving between lanes and cutting other vehicles up at speeds of “well over 100mph” for about 10 miles before the crash.
One said in her 20 years of driving she had never seen someone drive “with so little regard to other road users”.
Several empty beer bottles and a bottle of whisky were inside the car. In a breath test, Chauhan blew 104mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath at the roadside - three times the legal limit of 35mcg.
Chauhan admitted drink driving and driving a vehicle dangerously, and jailed for one year and four months, suspended for two years, at Cambridge Crown Court on 26 February.
He was disqualified from driving for three years and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
After the ban expires, Chauhan must also take an extended driving test.
PC Ben Patten and PC Jemma Russell from the road policing unit investigated the collision. “Chauhan’s driving was quite frankly some of the worst we have seen," PC Patten said.
“This was not a momentary lapse in concentration or an honest mistake, it was a prolonged period of driving at excessive speed, tailgating and undertaking vehicles, all while well over the drink drive limit.
“The victim who was hit by Chauhan suffered many physical and mental injuries and it is miraculous neither he or another innocent member of the public going about their daily business was not more seriously injured or worse.
“This type of driving not only affects the lives of those directly involved but also has a ripple effect on the families of the victims as well as the local communities and the NHS.”
The force operates a dedicated, 24/7 confidential hotline on 0800 032 0845 so that the public can provide information about anyone they think may be driving under the influence
