Drug driver jailed for 20 months after seriously injuring child in A1M crash near Stevenage
The incident led to severe injuries for a six-year-old boy.
Martyn Chapman, a 42-year-old from Hemel Hempstead, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison after a collision on the A1M seriously injured a six-year-old boy.
Chapman appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Friday, 6th February, where he pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving while over the prescribed drug limit.
The crash occurred on Sunday, 3rd November 2024, at around 6 pm, as Chapman's family was travelling northbound on the A1M.
He failed to notice slowing traffic at Stevenage's junction 8, resulting in a collision that crushed the vehicle in front.
The young boy, seated in the rear child seat, was trapped and suffered a fractured eye socket alongside other facial and body injuries.
The child's father, who had been driving, was knocked unconscious due to the impact of the collision.
Emergency services responded promptly, extracting the boy, his parents, and his sister from the wreckage and transporting them to the hospital for urgent care.
Chapman and his family were also transported to the hospital for examination.
Drug tests revealed Chapman had cocaine in his system, registering more than nine times over the legal limit for prescribed substances.
Following the sentencing, Sergeant Chris Whales from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit said: "This was a hugely traumatic incident and I must commend the small boy’s bravery. He and his family could have been killed by the recklessness of Chapman who decided to get behind the wheel whilst under the influence of drugs."
Sergeant Whales expressed hope that the sentence delivered would deter others from driving after drug use.