Loophole leaves drugs driver free

Judith Bralee has had 11 operations so far and faces more

A driver who was high on cannabis when he crashed his car, almost killing two people, has been banned from driving for five years.

David Sheppard, 36, could only be prosecuted for careless driving because of a legal loophole.

Huntingdon magistrates heard Sheppard's passenger, Richard Thorley, remains in hospital with severe brain injuries.

Judith Bralee, 38, of Somersham, Cambs, who was not expected to survive, said he should have been jailed on Thursday.

'Bionic woman'

She can do little for herself after the crash that was witnessed by her 11-year-old son and her husband who were travelling in a car behind.

So far Mrs Bralee has had 11 operations and still faces more. The team at Addenmbrooke's Hospital carrying out her reconstructive surgery has tagged her "bionic woman".

Self-confessed long-term cannabis user Sheppard, an unemployed welder who gave the court an address in Durham, spun his Mazda sports car across the A141 in Huntingdon into Mrs Bralee's Nissan Micra, breaking almost every bone in her body.

Sheppard was also ordered to pay £300 to each of his victims

The court heard blood tests showed Sheppard had a high level of cannabis in his blood after the Boxing Day crash.

Unlike drink driving laws, there are no clear guidelines about drug-taking and driving.

Under the 1988 Road Traffic Act the police also have to prove it made him unfit to drive by carrying out a mobility test measuring reactions and co-ordination at the scene.

Because he was injured - Sheppard broke his jaw - they were unable to do this so he could not be prosecuted for taking drugs.

He was also charged with having no insurance and no licence. Shappard admitted all three charges.