A dangerous driver who caused a crash which resulted in the death of a dog has been sentenced at court.
Tamani Cama was behind the wheel of a black Ford Focus which was being driven south on the A1(M) between junction 57 and 53 on June 28 last year.
Police said the vehicle was being driven “erratically” and lost control as it passed another vehicle, crashing into a red VW Transporter campervan.
The VW spun in the carriageway, causing the family’s dog to be thrown from the vehicle.
The pet later had to be put to sleep.
The 33-year-old Cama ran down a grass verge and collapsed. He was taken to hospital for treatment to an arm and chest injury.
In a police interview the driver, of Ixworth in Suffolk, said he had been up most of the night, had been working, and remembered being tired.
A sample of his blood contained 61mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood – below the legal limit of 80.
He was charged with dangerous driving and admitted the offence at York Magistrates Court on September 25.
He was sentenced at Ipswich Magistrates Court on Friday (Oct 23), where he was handed a 28-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, banned from driving for a year, ordered to complete a rehabilitation requirement, and ordered to pay cost of £250 and a surcharge of £154.
In a moving victim personal statement, read aloud in court, the driver of the VW said: “What should have been a happy family holiday turned into one of the most terrifying experiences of my life.
“Our vehicle was struck from behind by another vehicle travelling at such speed that the force of the impact was absolutely terrifying.
“It was horrific. I had no idea where we were going to end up, what was going to happen next or whether we would survive.
“Knowing that my partner, my grandson and our family dog were all in the vehicle made those moments even more frightening.
“The memory of those moments has stayed with me ever since, and I still experience flashbacks of what happened. One of the most heartbreaking consequences of the accident was losing our beloved family dog.”
TC Ross Moralee, from North Yorkshire Police, added: “This case shows the impact that dangerous driving can have on innocent members of the public.
“A bad decision to get behind the wheel resulted in devastating consequences.”