A drink driver who caused “catastrophic” injuries to a passenger while speeding away from police has been jailed. Matthew Clark, 31, is believed to have reached speeds of up to 100mph during the early hours of March 13, 2022, before crashing into a tree in West London.
One of his passengers, Sasha Priestley, has been paralysed from the waist down as a result of the collision, while two other passengers were also taken to hospital. Clark himself suffered “life-limiting” injuries and has developed a swallowing problem as well as cognitive difficulties and requires consistent medical treatment.
Appearing on Monday, May 22 at Isleworth Crown Court with the aid of crutches, he was jailed for 28 months after previously pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
The court heard that Clark had driven his girlfriend, his brother James and James' partner, Ms Priestley, in his Volkswagen Golf to a boxing match earlier that Saturday evening. CCTV showed Clark ordering drinks at the bar before drinking a pint of Amstel, and is later seen ordering more drinks for the group.
The group of four travelled onwards to The Shamrocks pub in Slough at 9.50pm, where they consumed a number of alcoholic drinks. Clark could be seen dancing at the bar and ordering drinks for himself and his friends, while another CCTV clip showed him appearing unsteady while exiting the doorway.
At 12.56am, police officers in a marked vehicle witnessed Clark’s VW Golf pulling out at speed behind a van in an “aggressive manner”. Believing it to possibly be involved in a spate of local thefts, they pursued it and blocked it after Clark came to a stop at a red traffic light.
While initially cooperative in turning off his engine, Clark changed his attitude when they asked for his car keys and mounted the kerb before making away at speed. Over the following minute and a half, Clark reached speeds of between 90mph and 100mph in a police pursuit near residential properties before crossing a bridge and crashing into trees on Iver Lane in Uxbridge.
Ms Priestley was taken via helicopter to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington with injuries that were described as “not only life-changing but truly catastrophic in both a physical and psychological sense”. She underwent abdominal and spinal surgery and spent five days in the intensive care unit, and has undergone multiple operations over the last year which has taken her away from her children.
'My freedom has been taken away'
As a result of her spinal cord injury, she has no bladder or bowel sensation and is paralysed from the waist downwards. In her victim impact statement, summarised to the court, she "described how at times of self reflection she has become frustrated and overwhelmed at how much of her freedom has been taken away from her”.
Meanwhile, Clark was also rushed to hospital with a traumatic brain injury as well as complex trauma to the larynx and airway, a fracture and dislocation of the left femoral head and multiple bilateral rib fractures. He since struggles with a swallowing problem and is more prone to choking, and suffers from anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.
It was noted at the time of the collision that he had not been wearing a seatbelt. His partner and his brother also suffered injuries. Speaking in Clark’s defence, Eloise Emanuel said that her client was “tortured by the guilty and the pain of the suffering he caused to those in the car, who were his loved ones”.
He is now only able to walk short distances with a crutch and is characterised as a “vulnerable adult” with his mum describing him as “somewhat of a recluse”. The court heard that “in an extraordinary act of kindness and bravery”, Ms Priestley, who remains a part of Clark’s close-knit family, has forgiven him for his actions.
Despite Ms Emanuel’s request to suspend his prison sentence due to his remorse and ill health, he was jailed for 28 months and must serve at least half before being released. Clark, of Littlehampton, West Sussex has also been disqualified from driving for four years upon his release and must take an extended retest.
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