Exmouth teenager jailed for cannabis-related crash

A teenager has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and banned from driving for 10 years after causing a crash that left another driver with serious injuries.

James Forrest-Hazell, now 18, was just 16 when the incident occurred on April 28, 2023, in Exmouth. He appeared at Exeter Crown Court on Thursday, December 12, where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The court heard that Forrest-Hazell, from Arena Park in Exeter, was uninsured and unlicensed at the time of the offence and was driving under the influence of cannabis. On the day of the crash, an unmarked police response unit was in the area, responding to an unrelated incident with its emergency lights activated.

The officer recognised Forrest-Hazell’s Ford Fiesta from a previous failure to stop and saw the car increasing speed. Following the vehicle onto Dinian Way, the officer watched as Forrest-Hazell overtook other vehicles in a hash-marked area, driving well over the 30 mph speed limit. As he approached a sweeping bend, Forrest-Hazell lost control of the vehicle, mounting a grass verge before colliding with a Fiat 500 waiting at the junction of St Briac Way.

The impact sent the Fiat into the air, causing the driver to suffer multiple fractures and a bleed on the brain. The collision continues to have lasting effects on the driver. The driver’s son, who was in the car, sustained a two-inch cut to his ear requiring stitches.

Forrest-Hazell fled the scene but was arrested after exiting the vehicle. During police questioning, he told officers he panicked and accelerated upon seeing blue lights behind him.

Sergeant Troy Bennett from the Serious Collision Investigation Team said, “James Forrest-Hazell was 16 years old at the time of the offence and should never have been behind the wheel of a car in the first place. His reckless actions not only led to the serious injury of an innocent member of the public, but also diverted an officer from responding to an emergency call.”

Forrest-Hazell was sentenced to 18 months in prison and will be banned from driving for a decade.