Drug driver jailed for deliberately crashing car into pensioner’s bungalow

A drug driver who deliberately crashed his BMW into a pensioner’s bungalow has been jailed.

Micheal Vose left Edna Kearns, 92, suffered serious leg injuries in the crash last November and she later died from an unrelated illness in hospital, having never returned home.

Vose, 40, was sentenced to four years in prison at Bolton Crown Court on Monday, when Judge Martin Walsh told the defendant he had made a “conscious decision” to smash into the pensioner’s home.

The court heard that Vose, who previously worked as a construction manager, had attempted to kill himself after assaulting his girlfriend and drunkenly accusing her of cheating on him at a flat in Westhoughton, Bolton.

During the assault, the defendant caused £1,000 worth of damage to his ex-partner’s bedroom and put his hands around her neck twice.

Judge Walsh told the court that the woman eventually managed to force him from the room and called 999, when Vose said he wanted to end his own life.

He said: “As she was on the phone to the police, she could hear you saying that you were going to kill yourself.”

At around 5.15am on the same night of November 2, Vose then drove his black BMW X6 down Chew Moor Lane, in Bolton, before going directly over a roundabout and into Ms Kearns’s home.

Ms Kearns, an former civil servant, was then flung from her bed and rushed to hospital with leg injuries and a fractured ankle following the crash.

Alistair Reed, prosecuting, said Vose drove into the house despite Ms Kearns leaving a light on to show that the bungalow was occupied.

Judge Walsh told the defendant: “A conscious decision was taken to drive the vehicle aggressively when you were heavily intoxicated with alcohol and cocaine.

“Mrs Kearns very sadly died on April 8, she never returned to her home.”

A victim impact statement prepared by Ms Kearn’s before her death – which was not directly caused by the crash – said she would “never be the same person again”.

The court heard that she had to stay in hospital over Christmas and feared she had lost her independence as a result.

The court also heard that Vose had nine previous convictions. These include blackmail and kidnap in 2015, and at the time of the incident, he was still serving a community order for racially aggravated offences.

Vose pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend, causing criminal damage to her flat, causing injury by dangerous driving and causing criminal damage to Ms Kearns’s home.

Mr Reid said Vose had been truly remorseful for what he had done to Mrs Kearns.

He said: “He does not expect forgiveness from the family but he wants it known that if he could turn back time he would do so.”

Along with being sent to prison for four years, Judge Walsh also banned Vose from driving for five years, including an extra two years ban to include the time he spends in prison.