Birmingham driver who flipped car and lied about it being stolen now delivers for Amazon
Andrew Jones, aged 23, had been stopped in Quinton by police hours before he crashed into a roundabout
A driver flipped his Seat Ibiza and then lied to the police that it had been stolen.
Andrew Jones crashed into a roundabout in Quinton and fled the car with his friends.
Just a few hours earlier he had been stopped by police who found a large amount of used nitrous oxide canisters in the vehicle.
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The 23-year-old's phone was connected to the car by Bluetooth which triggered an alert to the emergency services immediately after the collision took place.
He ultimately confessed to perverting the course of justice but was spared jail and a road ban at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, March 19, partly because either punishment would have jeopardised his new delivery job for Amazon.
Instead, Jones of Hollymoor Way in Northfield, was sentenced to 19 months suspended for two years.
He was ordered to carry out 25 days of rehabilitation activity, 75 hours of unpaid work and pay £500 in costs.
Judge Sarah Buckingham said she was 'confident' Jones could be punished outside of prison.
Acknowledging his 'employment situation' and the lack of further offending since the incident, she told him: "You have in many ways already taken responsibility and done all you can to do that.
"A disqualification (from driving) will ruin that hard work."
Jones had passed his driving test around six months before the incident on July 25, 2023.
Prosecutor Sabhia Pathan said officers initially pulled over the Seat Ibiza in Quinton Road West and noticed the smell of cannabis.
She said: "All the occupants were asked to leave and their details were taken. There were four young males in question.
"One of the occupants was found to have a small amount of cannabis - not the defendant.
"The same occupant was sporting a cast and detailed he had just been treated for a dog bite at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
"An officer noticed a large amount of nitrous oxide canisters which were empty.
"When challenged the occupant of the car (with the cast) reiterated it wasn't illegal to do them but to sell them."
Ms Pathan told the court that later that day a resident in the area reported hearing a 'loud bang' before witnessing four males, including one wearing a cast, running from a car which had overturned at a roundabout.
She said West Midlands Police received 'automated' calls at the time of the collision due to Jones' phone being connected to the Seat's Bluetooth.
Ms Pathan went on: "The day after, on the 26th of July, the defendant reported the vehicle stolen and that the keys to the vehicle had been stolen."
Jones gave the elaborate account that he had been with 'acquaintances' in Woodgate Valley park that evening when he fell asleep and his keys were taken by one of them.
He also claimed his phone was missing but police established he was lying with CCTV showing him in the Seat at a McDonald's at 9.21pm, around 30 minutes before the collision.
Jasvir Mann, defending, said that around the time of the incident Jones had been sleeping in his car after a falling out with his mother.
He told the court he had suffered severe financial consequences due to the Seat being written off and his insurance company voiding any payout.
The barrister confirmed he had since obtained two driving-related jobs, one of which was for Amazon, adding Jones still had outstanding finance to pay on the Seat as well as purchasing a new car and paying for expensive insurance on that.
Mr Mann concluded: "He is now employed as a driver.
"A ban would put him on the dole. He is a hard-working young man who has learned a bitter lesson."
Judge Buckingham said Jones must have at least been driving 'carelessly' at the time of the crash, concluding he 'avoided the proper weight of the law as a result of your actions'.
But she commended his attitude for obtaining two jobs when he could have just 'brooded and sulked'.