Drink-driver injured 11 in village carnival crash

Police said Ethan Walker was under the influence of "a cocktail of drink and drugs"

A drink-driver left 11 people, including six children, seriously injured when he ploughed his car into a village carnival.

Ethan Walker, 28, had taken a "cocktail of drink and drugs" before getting behind the wheel and crashing into people attending the Tideswell Wakes event in June 2023, Derbyshire Police said.

The force said he had been at the carnival before he drove his Tesla through a grass verge on to Whitecross Road, sped up to more than 60mph and subsequently lost control.

On Friday, Walker, of Stafford Road in Sheffield, was jailed for three and a half years at Derby Crown Court and handed a five-year driving ban.

Police said Walker, who previously lived in Tideswell, had offered a lift to a friend on the day of the crash, who refused because he was drunk.

After losing control of the Tesla, he mounted the grass verge and crashed into the crowd of 11 people before hitting a tree.

'Blatant disregard'

Walker was still in the car when police arrived and taken to hospital. The force said he attempted to prevent officers carrying out drink and drug-driving tests by "pretending to be asleep".

However, a saliva sample and blood sample showed he had cannabis and cocaine in his system, as well as being over the legal driving limit for alcohol, police added.

The driver was charged with six counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and five counts of assault of a person occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), which he admitted to at a previous hearing.

He was handed a sentence of three and a half years for the first six charges, and a two-year prison sentence for the five counts of ABH, which he will serve concurrently.

The judge also ruled Walker would have to undertake an extended re-test following his ban.

The crash in June 2023 prompted a witness appeal

Det Con Dan Booth, who led the investigation, said: "While it is a miracle that no-one was killed by Walker's reckless driving on that night, the impact on those people involved cannot be underestimated with many of them still dealing with the physical, mental and emotional trauma this caused.

"His behaviour while at the hospital in trying to prevent officers from carrying out tests is another indicator of Walker's blatant disregard for the consequences of his actions."