Drug driver injured three in high-speed Lincolnshire crash

Rhys Hayden told police he had been driving like an "absolute idiot"

A speeding driver who injured three people in a head-on collision while high on cocaine has been jailed.

Rhys Hayden, 23, was driving a convertible Audi A4 when he hit a white Range Rover in Ingoldmells.

A 17-year-old boy in the Audi suffered life-changing injuries in the crash, while two people in the Range Rover were treated for minor injuries.

Hayden, from Mansfield, was jailed for two years nine months after he was found guilty of three driving offences.

Lincolnshire Police said Hayden crashed into the other vehicle on the A52 at Roman Bank on 6 March 2022.

Collision investigators found he had been travelling at 74mph shortly before impact.

The force said witnesses described seeing the Audi being driven at excessive speeds, with the roof down and loud music playing before the crash.

Hayden was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday

Following the crash Hayden was taken to hospital where blood samples revealed he had cocaine in his system above the prescribed limit.

He was also not insured at the time of the crash and it emerged his car's automatic braking system was faulty.

During his police interview, Hayden admitted to driving like an "absolute idiot", the force said.

Speaking after a sentencing hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday, Det Insp Joanna Reeves said the collision had had a "serious impact" on Hayden's front seat passenger.

"Mr Hayden was a young driver, behind the wheel of a powerful car, which had a braking defect. He had cocaine in his system, and he was travelling at excessive speeds," she said.

"This collision has two out of four recognised contributory factors in serious and fatal collisions; speed and drug driving."

Hayden, of Little Barn Lane, Mansfield, was found guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving without insurance, and driving while over the specified drug limit.

He was also banned from driving for three years and seven months and told he must take an extended test before regaining his licence.