Man jailed after driving into oncoming traffic with children in the car
Tancredo Bankhardt caused serious injuries in a crash near Loddon
Last updated 14th May 2026
A man has been sentenced to four years in prison after causing serious injury through dangerous driving in a crash on the A146 near Loddon, Norfolk.
41-year-old Tancredo Bankhardt, from Saxon Road, Great Yarmouth, was found guilty by Norwich Crown Court of three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and one count of dangerous driving.
The crash occurred on a 60mph stretch of road on 26th September last year when Bankhardt, driving a Vauxhall Astra, collided with oncoming traffic at a speed exceeding 70mph.
Mrs Justice Jennifer Eady, who presided over the case, stated that Bankhardt was in a "highly distracted state", making calls and expressing "high levels of emotion and distress" while driving.
Two of the serious injury counts were for two of Bankhardt’s three young passengers, while the third was for 45-year-old Lukasz Wawrzenlzyk, the driver of an oncoming Honda car.
In his victim impact statement, Mr Wawrzenlzyk shared that he suffered multiple fractures in the crash and continues to experience physical pain daily.
Another victim, John Huggins, the 43-year-old driver of an Audi involved in the collision, reported back pain in his statement.
The judge detailed that Bankhardt and his passengers were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the collision. The seatbelts were either locked against seatbacks or simply unused.
The crash, which took place at 8.33pm, showed Bankhardt had repeated stretches of driving up and down the A146, using both hand-held and holder-mounted phone methods.
The judge acknowledged Bankhardt's conduct was out of character due to personal stress and sentenced him to four years in prison, along with a driving ban for 54 months.
Despite being cleared of attempted murder charges concerning the three children in the car, Bankhardt's prior good character was noted by Simon Spence KC in mitigation.