Tisbury drink driver jailed for causing serious A30 crash
Christopher Burden collided with a car carrying a mum and two children
A Tisbury man, who seriously injured a woman and her two children while drink driving, has been jailed for a year.
46 year old Christopher Burden, of Weaveland Road, has been sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court, after previously pleading guilty to three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
He'll also serve a year of his sentence on licence, and has been banned from driving for two years, to begin when he's released from prison.
What happened?
Burden was over the drink drive limit, and speeding, when he overtook a vehicle on a blind bend over solid white lines on the A30 at Donhead St Mary in November 2023.
He then collided with the victim family's car.
The victim driver said her daughter, who was 10 years old at the time, suffered significant psychological trauma and experienced nightmares up to three times a week for six months as a result of the crash.
In a statement, the victim said: "My daughter had six sessions of therapy with a psychologist which helped, but it took time for her to feel comfortable going in the car and she still doesn’t sit in the seat she was in at the time of the collision.
"She would also get triggers which caused flash backs, such as the smell of burning and loud noises. This would cause her to freeze on the spot, and we worked out a coping mechanism where I would squeeze her hand to re-assure her."
Thankfully, all three victims made a full physical recovery.
Wiltshire Police has released body cam footage from the scene of the crash - and CCTV of a collision he'd been involved in shortly before.
Just 10 minutes before the A30 incident, Burden had crashed his motorcycle into a parked car close to his former home near Shaftesbury.
He was helped up by bystanders who suspected he was drunk, but returned home and drove off in his BMW.
By the time police received a call from the bystanders raising suspicions of Burden's fitness to drive, he had caused a serious collision.
Temporary Detective Constable Alexander Collins, Wiltshire Police's Roads Policing Lead Investigator, said:
"Burden caused a substantial amount of physical and psychological damage to a family who must now live with the consequences of his reckless behaviour for the rest of their lives.
"If you drink alcohol and drive, you are far more likely to be involved in a fatal collision. If you survive, you will be brought to court where you will face a mandatory driving disqualification and possibly jail time."