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A man who smashed his Audi into an oncoming car while driving drunk with children in the back seats has been banned from the roads.

Simon Wright, 43, was injured along with his front seat passenger after he skidded his vehicle and crashed it while exiting a roundabout.

Emergency services attended the scene between Malmesbury and Little Somerford in Wiltshire on March 25, and the driver failed a subsequent breath test.

The two kids were treated for shock but did not sustain any physical injuries.

Wright, from Malmesbury, pleaded guilty to driving dangerously and drink driving at Swindon Crown Court on July 26.

He was given a two year driving ban, an 18 month suspended prison sentence and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

The driver must also pay £2,000 in compensation and a £187 surcharge.

Dashcam videograb : A Malmesbury man who lost control of his vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol has been given a driving ban. Simon Wright, 43, of Parklands, Malmesbury, appeared at Swindon Crown Court on July 26 and pleaded guilty to driving dangerously and drink driving. He was given a two year driving disqualification, an 18 month suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay ?2,000 compensation and a ?187 surcharge. At 4.30pm on March 25, 2023, Wright was driving an Audi RS4 with a front seat passenger and children in the vehicle from Malmesbury to Little Somerford. He was seen to exit Priory roundabout at such speed having overtaken two vehicles, he lost control of the car and skidded into the face of oncoming traffic, colliding with another vehicle. Emergency services attended the scene and Wright failed a breath test. He sustained a number of injuries whilst it is believed his front seat passenger was also injured. The children were treated for shock but fortunately were not injured. The driver and the passenger of the second vehicle were admitted to hospital but thankfully not seriously injured. PC Luke Hobbs, from the Roads Policing Unit, said: ?This standard of driving, especially whilst under the influence of alcohol, is totally unacceptable on our roads and poses a significant danger to other road users. The fact that there were young children also in the vehicle at the time does not bare thinking about. ?Dangerous driving and drink driving are two of the fatal five offences most likely to cause serious harm or death on our roads and we are 100 per cent dedicated to targeting those committing these offences in order to keep our roads safe. ?We all know alcohol can give you a false sense of confidence and unfortunately all too often we see drivers getting behind the wheel of a car having consumed alcohol under the impression they are invincible. It should not take a serious collision like this to understand the serious consequences of your actions if you are one of these people. ?I am pleased that as a result of his selfish and mindless actions, Wright has been banned from our roads.?
Nobody in either car sustained serious injuries (Picture: Wiltshire Police)

The driver and the passenger of the vehicle that Wright hit were admitted to hospital but were also not seriously injured.

PC Luke Hobbs of Wiltshire Police said: ‘This standard of driving, especially whilst under the influence of alcohol, is totally unacceptable on our roads and poses a significant danger to other road users.

‘The fact that there were young children also in the vehicle at the time does not bear thinking about.’

Dashcam footage
Harrowing dashcam footage shows Wright skidding off the road into an oncoming car (Picture: Wiltshire Police)

Hobbs, from the force’s Roads Policing Unit, added: ‘We all know alcohol can give you a false sense of confidence and unfortunately all too often we see drivers getting behind the wheel of a car having consumed alcohol under the impression they are invincible.

‘It should not take a serious collision like this to understand the serious consequences of your actions if you are one of these people.

‘I am pleased that as a result of his selfish and mindless actions, Wright has been banned from our roads.’

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