'Lying' motorist driving stolen Porsche smashed into Leeds cancer patient working for a food bank
A motorist driving a stolen Porsche failed to top at a junction and ploughed into a van being driven by a cancer patient who was working at a food bank.
Curtis Campbell was “clearly speeding” when he collided with the Ford Transit on Chapeltown Road, then wiped down his airbag and steering while to remove any DNA and told arriving officers that he was not behind the wheel.
The van driver, a 70-year-old man suffered a broken neck and required surgery.
Charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving, 36-year-old Campbell continued to deny wrongdoing and even tried to blame the van driver.
On the day his trial was due to start last month, he admitted to causing serious injury through careless driving, which was accepted by the Crown.
Leeds Crown Court heard this week that the victim had been driving along Chapeltown Road at around 10pm on September 11, 2021, away from Leeds city centre and on his way home after a shift working for the food bank.
Campbell, who had a female passenger with him, failed to slow down when exiting Louis Street. He smashed into the van with such force it pushed it across the road and into the front of the CC Continental Supermarket.
An eye-witness said the Porsche had been speeding at the time of the crash, estimated to be around 50mph on the 30mph road, prosecutor Erin Kitson-Parker said.
Despite his efforts to wipe away the evidence, his DNA was later found on the airbag and he was arrested.
The victim was due to begin treatment for prostate cancer days later which had to be postponed. He had to undergo an operation and was forced to wear a neck brace. He was a mechanic but is now not able to work as a result of the crash.
Campbell, of Kitchener Street, Harehills, has nine previous convictions for 15 offences, including drink driving from 2013.
Mitigating, Charles Blatchford said that Campbell worked at a boxing club trying to turn children in Burmantofts away from a life of crime and gangs.
He said of the crash: “He was a foolish individual. There was no malice there in terms of what he did that night.”
Judge Ray Singh said he was “highly skeptical” about Campbell’s story about how he came to be driving the stolen Porsche - that he had been loaned the car by a friend whom only know by his first name.
He added: “It’s almost inconceivable that somebody would hand over the keys of such a vehicle to an individual he hardly knows.”
Referring to the crash, he said: “You did not really care about the injury you caused or the accident. You were more concerned in saving your own neck.
“Witnesses saw you trying to wipe down the airbag and steering wheel. There can only be one reason for that, to avoid detection.”
He gave Campbell a 14-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 10 rehabilitation days and 150 hours of unpaid work. He also banned him from driving for 18 months.