M5 crashed car driver Michael McCluskey is spared jail

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33986238

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A man who drove a severely damaged car for 42 miles at speeds of up to 90mph (145 km/h) has been spared jail.

Michael McCluskey, 30, from Mill Lane in Birmingham, was stopped by police on the M5 on 30 May, an hour after he had collided with a lorry near Gloucester.

Gloucester Crown Court sentenced him to 10-months, suspended for two years.

He was disqualified from driving for 18 months, ordered to do 180 hours unpaid work, to take an extended driving test and to pay £350 in fines and costs.

McCluskey, who previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and failing to stop, escaped jail because of the impact imprisonment would have had on his family.

Sentencing him the judge, Mr Recorder Jeremy Wright, agreed with defence counsel, Graham Russell, who said McCluskey's driving had been "absurdly foolish".

In mitigation his defence said "He was in a state of panic and he simply wanted to get home.

"He didn't have breakdown cover so didn't feel he could stop.

"He was a young man who utterly panicked and didn't know what to do next."