Driver, 38, who seriously injured three people in head-on car smash and then joked that his surgeon ‘liked Meccano as a kid’ when posting picture of his own injuries online is jailed for five years and nine months

• The horror crash happened on January 6 2021, in Audenshaw, Manchester
• Shameless driver Alix Grant was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court
• READ MORE: Tragedy as two schoolgirls, 16 and 13, are killed in horror car crash 

A shameless driver who seriously injured three people in a head-on car crash and then joked that his surgeon ‘liked Meccano as a kid’ while posting self-pitying pictures of his own injuries in hospital has been jailed for five years and nine months,

Former company director Alix Grant, 38, took his friend’s car for a late night spin on January 6, 2021, when he overtook another car on a bend in Audenshaw, near Manchester, and smashed into an oncoming vehicle.

The father-of-two took his pal’s car, a Kia Ceed, ‘for something to do’ that evening, when he overtook a car on a bend at high speeds in icy conditions and ploughed into a Renault Megane.

The shameless road menace then apparently ignored the plight of his victims – and instead took pictures of his own injured legs in plaster and in a metal brace and then posted them on social media site Facebook to get sympathy from his friends.

When one follower asked: ‘What did you crash into, a tank?’ Grant replied: ‘No lol.’ 

He then brazenly went on to add: ‘Find out this week if I will still have a leg.’

Alix Grant showed off self pitying pictures of his own injuries in hospital and joked: ‘Think my surgeon liked Meccano as a kid’

Pictured is Grant recovering after the accident. The father also refused to consent to a blood sample being analysed to check if he had been drinking

Pictured is Grant’s bloody forehead after the accident. Emergency services rushed to the scene where they treated the injured following the smash, as one witness compared the roadside to an ‘operating theatre’

Grant’s posts that he put up on Facebook following the horror smash. He apparently ignored the plight of his victims and posted them on Facebook to get sympathy from his friends

And in another post, the 38-year-old joked: ‘Think my surgeon liked Meccano as a kid.’ 

The Renault driver Daniel Dunlop and passenger Dillion Phillips, both in their 20s, were heading home after an evening at a friend’s house.

Tragically, they suffered life-changing injuries following the impact of the smash.

Mr Dunlop was left in a wheelchair for several months and needed various courses of treatment whilst Dillon suffered multiple injuries to his legs and spine. 

Meanwhile, Lynn Gilchrist – who owned the Kia Ceed which Grant had been driving – suffered various rib fractures which required a metal plate to be inserted, plus a punctured lung.

Police inquires revealed that Grant, of Dukinfield, Greater Manchester was serving a three year road ban for drink-driving at the time of the crash and as a result was uninsured to drive.

One witness claimed that the 38-year-old had been speeding at up to 90pmh in the moments before the crash.

The father also refused to consent to a blood sample being analysed to check if he had been drinking.

Following the horror crash, Grant was jailed for five years and nine months at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester.

He admitted to three charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to provide a blood sample, driving whilst disqualified and an unrelated offence of affray. 

Pictured is Grant recovering after the accident. A probation report said: ‘Mr Grant takes full responsibility for his actions and has reflected on the impact upon all the victims and showed remorse’

Grant had 32 previous offences on his record. And in 2018, he was convicted of careless driving, drink driving and failing to stop after an accident

He was also banned from driving for five years which will come into effect when he is released from jail.

In prosecuting, Miss Chloe Fordham said that all ‘Miss Gilchrist remembers was a big bang’ from the crash, and being cut free from the wreckage.

Miss Fordham added that in the run up to the incident, Mr Dunlop ‘didn’t have a chance to move’ or take swift action to avoid the Kia Ceed from colliding with his vehicle.

The prosecutor said: ‘When it was time to go home, the defendant offered to drive Miss Glichrist as he was concerned she had been drinking.. They went to her home where they stayed for a short while before going out again for a drive for ‘something to do.’

‘Miss Gilchrist was happy for him to drive and had no issues with his driving but during the journey he went to overtake another car at excessive speed and went onto the opposite side of the carriageway. All Miss Gilchrist remembers was a big bang and then coming to find people all around her and she had to be cut free from the wreckage.’

She continued to say: ‘In the run up to the crash, Daniel Dunlop had been at a friend’s house and was asked to give Dillon Phillips a lift home at 10.30pm. During their journey Mr Dunlop said he saw a car flying around the corner with the headlights coming towards them on the opposite side of the road and said he didn’t have a chance to move or take evasive action.

‘Dillon said he was looking at his mobile phone when he suddenly heard Daniel scream and looked up to see a car coming at them at a speed which he said felt like 90mph. After the crash Dillon remembers getting out of the Renault and hearing Daniel screaming in pain and at one point he thought Daniel was dying.

‘Daniel himself thought the car would set on fire and he untangled his seat belt and managed to get out but he said his legs didn’t feel right and he had to sit in the road whilst he dialled 999.’

Following this, emergency services rushed to the scene where they treated the injured.

One witness compared the roadside to an ‘operating theatre.’ 

The former company director took his friend’s car for a late night spin on January 6, 2021, when he overtook another car on a bend in Audenshaw, near Manchester, and smashed into an oncoming vehicle

Mr Dunlop suffered multiple fractures to both his legs plus his ankle and collarbone and underwent operations to have metal plates fitted.

Speaking about how the horror head-on smash affected him and his life, he said: ‘The last six months of my life have been extremely difficult. I’m usually an upbeat person but I really struggle with depression and night terrors as the last thing I think of when I go to sleep and first thing I think of when I wake up is a flashback of the car crashing into us.

‘I have thought of the other driver and thought about forgiving him but knowing he should not have been on the road that night is disappointing s this could all have been avoided.’

Meanwhile Mr Phillips who suffered numbness in his spine and lower limbs due to multiple fractures and hitting his head against the windscreen told police: ‘This had left me extremely shaken and I just feel lucky to have got out alive.. When I was subsequently driven down the same road and a car went passed, I was nervous panicky and shaky.

‘The crash has left me with lifelong injuries, and mental scars which have left me paranoid. The incident will live with me for the rest of my life.’

Grant had 32 previous offences on his record. 

In 2002 he was convicted of aggravated vehicle taking and in 2006 was convicted of dangerous driving in a stolen car and failing to provide a breath sample. 

And in 2018, he was convicted of careless driving, drink driving and failing to stop after an accident.

His counsel Miss Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe said in mitigation: ‘He also suffered serious significant injuries in this crash which required an extensive stay in hospital. He will be subject to ongoing physiotherapy and still suffers physical pain. He is awaiting an operation to restructure his right leg which will include re-breaking the bone. He has developed mental health issues like depression and anxiety and has shown genuine remorse.’

A probation report said: ‘Mr Grant takes full responsibility for his actions and has reflected on the impact upon all the victims and showed remorse. He says he feels for everyone who is still suffering and he is very sorry.’

But sentencing Judge Bernadette Baxter told Grant: ‘This was a dreadful accident at a time when it was dark, cold, wet and icy. You should not have been on the road, you were driving at excessive speed and the substantial risk of danger your driving manoevre caused would have been obvious to anybody.

‘I have taken into account that you yourself were seriously injured in the crash but the fact remains three other people were also left seriously injured as a result of your actions which are set against the background of an appalling driving record.’

Source: Read Full Article