A young driver has been banned from the roads after a crash in Hexham left his friend with serious injuries, including a collapsed lung and a stoma bag. Jordan Reynolds, 22, was driving a Vauxhall Corsa with two tyres below the legal tread limit when he lost control on a bend and hit a tree, causing the car to burst into flames.
The court heard that the vehicle smashed into a tree and immediately caught fire, but both Reynolds and the victim managed to escape. The friend was taken to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, where he underwent emergency bowel surgery that left him needing a stoma bag. He also suffered broken ribs, a displaced disc in his back, a collapsed lung, and extensive bruising.
Crash details and injuries
Clare Haswell, prosecuting at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court, said Reynolds and the victim were travelling along Lowgate, in Hexham, on January 18 2025. She said: "On that evening, the defendant was going at 60mph, which was the speed limit."
Miss Haswell added: "They had their seatbelts on and [the victim] was not concerned about the driving. His last memory before crashing was the defendant driving on a back road in Hexham. The next memory he has is waking up in the RVI the next day, unsure of what had happened. He couldn't recall the crash at all. It transpired that the defendant had crashed the car into a tree and it had burst into flames and the vehicle was destroyed."
The court heard that the victim was fitted with a stoma bag after surgery but that it had since been removed and he had recovered. Miss Haswell said Reynolds had also phoned the man to apologise. A subsequent examination of Reynolds's car showed that his two back tyres had treads below the legal limit.
Victim impact and defence
In a statement, the victim said: "The crash has had a terrible affect on my life. I was so excited about going to Ibiza this summer and later Zante but I have had to cancel those holidays as I can't go with a stoma bag. Not only has this robbed my enjoyment of these holidays but I will also lose out in what I paid for them. I'm still friends with Jordan but I'm frustrated with him crashing and injuring me like this. It will have long-lasting consequences on my life."
The court heard that Reynolds himself was injured in the crash, suffering a broken ankle. Michael Gibson, defending, said Reynolds had no past convictions, was remorseful, and had always admitted being the driver. Mr Gibson added: "He was going around a corner and he skidded. Jordan did suffer a broken ankle and a torn tendon in his knee. He has made a full recovery. He was not speeding. There's a slight bend in the road. Jordan says he went around that bend and he felt the rear of the car starting to slide out. He then hit a grass verge, which diverted the direction of the car, making the collision with the tree unavoidable."
Sentence and penalty
Reynolds, of Infield, in Redburn, Hexham, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving. Magistrates fined him £1,800 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £720 victim surcharge. He was also banned from driving for 14 months.
