Driver jailed for horror smash after deadly manoeuvre under Wakefield railway bridge
A driver who tried to overtake under a railway bridge and smashed head-on into an oncoming car has been jailed.
Arrogant Marvelous Adekunle even reportedly flashed at the driver to get out of the way, despite being on the wrong side of the road himself.
The victim suffered a badly broken leg that required surgery while 28-year-old Adekunle, who had no valid driving licence, broke both of his ankles.
He was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week after admitting a charge of causing serious injury through dangerous driving.
The court heard that the victim had been driving his white Toyota Prius along Doncaster Road towards North Elmsall on April 7 last year.
At the same time, a woman had been driving home from work in a line of cars on the opposite carriageway.
Prosecutor Daisy Wrigley said as they approached the low bridge, the woman noticed the headlights in her wing mirror as Adekunle began to overtake the line of cars.
His car was adjacent to the woman’s when they entered under the bridge, and noticed the victim’s headlights coming towards them.
The victim tried to swerve onto the grass verge when Adekunle began flashing, but the cars then collided, sending them into a spin.
Others stopped and came to the rescue, but the victim was trapped in his vehicle. Firefighters had to cut him free and he was taken to Pinderfields Hospital.
Adekunle managed to release himself but could not walk.
Adekunle was arrested and told police he thought his driving was fine, but was then forced to confess it was dangerous after being shown dashcam footage from the crash. It was also played to the court.
The female driver, who uses the road regularly, said that she had seen Adekunle attempt that same manoeuvre previously on the same stretch.
Computer science graduate Adekunle, of Princegate House, Young Street, Doncaster, had come to the UK from Nigeria in 2023.
However, his Nigerian driving licence was labelled a “fantasy document” and no record of insurance could be found.
Mitigating, Andrea Parnham said Adekunle had admitted his guilt during his first court appearance and that he had “expressed true remorse” and “accepted responsibility”.
She added: “He drove very dangerously on that day and accepts that, but there is potentially a brighter future for him.”
Judge Neil Clark told him: “It was clearly not safe to overtake the line of cars.
“It was truly awful and dangerous. You ignored all the road markings and all common sense.”
He said it was fortunate there was dashcam footage, because Adekunle had told officers a “blatant lie” during his police interview.
He jailed him for 28 months and gave him a 43-month driving ban.