Emergency services attended the crash in Northern Relief Road (credit: Matthew Hossack)
Klaidas Keblas, 25, crashed an Audi A3 head on into a Vauxhall Zafira in March and then ran from the scene, leaving his two passengers and the driver of the other vehicle seriously injured.
The crash happened in Northern Relief Road, near the junction with North Street, just after midnight on Friday, 6 March.
That evening, police arrested him at Luton Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Lithuania.
Keblas pleaded not guilty in court and stood trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, accused of three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of a collision and failing to report a collision.
Following a trial, he was found guilty on Monday, 19 October, of two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, following which he pleaded guilty to the charges of failing to stop at the scene of the collision and failing to report the collision.
Klaidas Keblas was sentenced following a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court
The judge sentenced him to five years imprisonment, ordering that he serve the full sentence and then be banned from driving for a further two-and-a-half years.
Detective Sergeant Edward Coleman said: “The not guilty plea entered by Keblas meant that all three victims were put through a criminal trial – this truly did add insult to very serious injury.
“At the time of the collision, Keblas was driving on the wrong side of the road, and although all three victims survived their injuries, two of them continue to have treatment and are still recovering more than seven months on.
“As the victims reconcile themselves to living with the after effects of their injuries, Keblas’s cowardly actions in leaving them lying injured are something he will have time to reflect on as he serves his sentence.”
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Tags: Barking, Barking and Dagenham
