Speeding boyfriend who 'aquaplaned' into wall and caused mum-to-be to lose finger avoids jail
A speeding driver has dodged jail over a horror crash in which his pregnant partner lost a finger.
Andrew Langrell's car "aquaplaned" in appalling weather and slammed into a wall.
A court heard that he lost control as he drove through a pool of water while overtaking a lorry at 82 miles an hour.
Langrell escaped unhurt but partner Dionne Lancaster's serious injuries have left her with restricted mobility in her arm. Their unborn child survived the collision.
Airdrie Sheriff Court heard the couple remain together and now have two children.
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Langrell, 27, of Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, was put under social work supervision for a year and ordered to do 135 hours of unpaid community work.
He was also banned from driving for 32 months and must resit his test.
Langrell admitted causing serious injury to Dionne by driving dangerously on the A80 in Chryston, North Lanarkshire, on December 1, 2021.
Sheriff Siobhan Connelly told him: "This was very poor decision-making and dangerous driving on your part.
"The consequences were very serious for your partner and could have been more so. There could have been a fatality.
"It meets the custody threshold but I take into account your personal circumstances.
"While custody would punish you, it would have an adverse effect on your family."
Defence solicitor Greg Smith described Langrell's driving as "stupid", adding: "He caused his partner serious injury and that has caused him significant pain.
"He is in full time employment as an engineer and is the family's main breadwinner.
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"The criminal justice social work report is very favourable and assesses him as low risk. I suggest the risk of anything like this happening again is extremely low."
Dionne was eight weeks pregnant when the crash happened on a dual carriageway where the speed limit is 50 miles an hour.
Flora McCamley, prosecuting, said: "It was approximately 7am and dark. It was raining and there were large areas of standing water on the road.
"Langrell moved out to overtake an HGV. Investigators calculate his speed was 82 miles an hour at this point.
"He drove into a large area of standing water, aquaplaned and lost control.
"The car went into a spin, crossed the carriageway and struck the kerb. It then hit a lamppost, crossed the footpath and collided with a wall.
"Langrell was able to get out of the car, basically uninjured, but his partner was trapped in the front passenger seat. Emergency services attended and freed her."
Dionne was taken to Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital with "significant" injuries.
The pinky on her left hand was amputated and she had numerous skin grafts. Bone had to be removed from her arm and replaced with bone from her ankle.
She spent three weeks in hospital and still has restricted mobility in her arm.
Ms McCamley added: "An ultrasound confirmed the unborn baby was unharmed."
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