A sixth form student has released this shocking picture of himself in intensive care as he told of his fury over the ‘let down’ sentence given to a drink driver who crashed into him.
Oxford University hopeful Luke Mason, 18, was left in a coma and with life-changing injuries after Hadi Hamid ploughed into him while he was banned from the roads and over the alcohol limit.
Hamid, 40, was jailed for four years over the crash – but will be released after 16 months when he has served half of that term and time on remand.
Mr Mason has vowed to campaign for changes to the criminal justice system due to the sentence being, in his view, too soft.
He said: ‘I don’t blame the judge for the sentence – the fault is with the criminal justice system – his hands were tied.’
This shocking picture was released by A-level student Luke Mason after he was hit by a drink driver. He is angry that the driver will be freed from prison in less than two years
Hamid was jailed for four years after he admitted a charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving – which has a maximum sentence of five years – but will serve just half, less the time he has spent on remand since the horror in October last year.
Mr Mason said after the case of 40-year-old Hamid, who was disqualified for dangerous driving in 2013: ‘The justice system lets people down every day.
‘I want to go into politics, and the thing I want to change is the justice system, but I never thought I’d become a part of it.
‘I will still be going to hospital when he comes out of prison. I would rather go to prison than have to go through what I went through.’
Luke, who is doing politics, economics, history and religious studies at The King’s Academy Sixth Form in Middlesbrough, is now a year behind in his studies.
Hadi Hamid will be entitled to automatic release in 16 months
He says he has had to put his life on hold while he received major surgery and intensive treatment for injuries to his spine, collar bone and arm, which now all have metal plates inserted.
The teenager also had a large wound to his head and multiple abrasions to his face, neck and abdomen, a collapsed lung, blood in his chest cavity, multiple broken ribs and a fractured hip when he arrived in the intensive care unit at hospital.
Teesside Crown Court heard that he was put into an induced coma, was in hospital for nine weeks, and if was four weeks before police could speak to him about what happened.
When officers had arrived on the scene near the Empire nightclub in Middlesbrough in the aftermath of the 1.15am collision, the teenager muttered: ‘Don’t let me die.’
Matthew, also 18, was clipped by the Dodge Avenger and knocked out of the way before his friend Matthew Lockwood was carried along on the bonnet before falling off and being driven over.
In his personal statement, Matthew said he had no memory of being hit, but suffered a badly cut head which needed 20 stitches and still bears a scar, a bleed to the brain and an injured knee.
Hamid, of Middlesbrough, also admitted driving while disqualified, failing to provide a specimen of breath and having no insurance, and was banned from the roads for 12 years.
The crash happened outside Middlebrough’s Empire nightclub in October last year
Robert Mochrie, mitigating, said: ‘Clearly the most distressing aspect of this case is the fact that Mr Hamid chose to drive over Luke after he had been thrown to the floor.
‘When the defendant drove over him he did not do so with any malice. It was undoubtedly a cowardly act, but one borne out of fear and panic, having realised what he had done.’
Judge Tony Briggs in the case was forced to explain to the victims that he was unable to impose a longer sentence unless the law received ‘parliamentary attention.’
The judge told Hamid: ‘Your driving was very dangerous. The area was crowded with people, and a chilling feature of this case is that you shot past a group of girls in the middle of the road which you could just as easily have knocked over.
‘Luke Mason, who has read his victim impact statement in court with considerable dignity and restraint, suffered devastating injuries.’
He added: ‘As far as the maximum sentence is concerned, and I say this for the benefit of the public, the offence of causing injury by dangerous driving has taken a long time to become law. The campaign for it was a lengthy one, and goes back decades.
‘The authorities are perfectly clear at present, and any alteration would require Parliamentary attention.
‘But there are many many people who would wonder whether five years was sufficient for causing injury while driving a vehicle which, if misused, would be likely to cause far more damage than a simple assault.
‘I explain all this for the benefit of the families. The basic position is, solutions lie in the powers of others.’