Drink-driver ended footballer's dreams; Boy suffered shattered leg in horror crash.

Byline: Garry Willey

DREAMS of soccer stardom were shattered when a drink and drugs-crazed driver mounted a pavement outside a school and careered into a boy of 14.

Craig Williams was just weeks away from a trial to launch the football career he had worked so hard to achieve.

But his hopes were wrecked in a moment when he was mown down during school lunch break by showoff David Batty - three times over the drink limit and with cocaine in his system.

Surgeons had to rebuild Craig's shattered leg with pins and a metal plate.

His shoulder and pelvis were also fractured and Batty - who had been doing wheel-smoking handbrake turns in a car park - left the teenager trapped against railings with one of the wheels of his silver Citroen Saxo against his face.

And as Batty was given a TR15-month jail sentence at Newcastle Crown Court, the devastating impact of the crash was revealed.

"Craig describes that he was in extreme pain for weeks," said Neil Pallister, prosecuting.

"He was on crutches for eight weeks and suffers sleep disorders, nightmares, and flashbacks.

"He also describes how he was very keen on football and was due to have a trial but clearly could not attend because of the injuries he had sustained.

"Due to the accident he can no longer pursue the career he had hoped to follow. "He describes himself being very angry and upset by that, having worked hard to get to the level he was at."

Batty, 21, of Staveley Road, Sunderland, admitted dangerous driving which carries only a maximum sentence of two years. He also pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath specimen and assaulting a police officer when he was arrested after the accident on March 3. A blood sample taken five hours after the accident showed he had been an estimated three times over the alcohol limit and had taken cocaine before the crash on Dykelands Road, Sunderland, close to Monkwearmouth School where Craig was a pupil.

Judge John Evans said he accepted a raft of glowing references for Batty showed the offence had been out of character. But jailing him and imposing a five-year driving ban, he added: "This is probably the worst case of dangerous driving in my experience - engaging in handbrake turns, showing off, losing control, and ploughing into the boy.

"You are very fortunate not to be facing a much more serious charge. It is impossible to deal with this other than by an immediate custodial sentence."

Witnesses had seen Batty doing a series of handbrake turns and high speed skids in a car park just before the accident - showing off to youngsters on their lunch break.

He lost control of the Citroen as he zigzagged at speed down the 30mph road, demolishing a traffic sign and flying over the kerb before hitting Craig as he walked along the footpath ahead of his friends.

"One describes the car starting to skid," Mr Pallister told the court. "The defendant's face changed from smug to a look of panic."

Craig was thrown into the air by the collision, bounced off the bonnet, and became pinned against metal railings where he was hit three more times as panic stricken Batty drove the Citroen back and forward before finally speeding away. "It is difficult to reconcile the young man you read about in the testimonials with the one who drove that car like an idiot - in his own words - that day," said Robert Spragg, defending. "He is totally shocked and devastated by what he has done."

CAPTION(S):

SHOWING OFF David Batty.