THIS is the heart-stopping moment an idiot driver ploughed into oncoming traffic after overtaking an HGV and skidding out of control.
Holidaymaker Norman Chai, 66, smashed into two cars on the A30 in Devon.
Norman Chai speeding past an HGVDevon and Cornwall Police
He then lost control and skiddedDevon and Cornwall Police
Chai smashed into an oncoming MitsubishiDevon and Cornwall Police
Nine people suffered injuries in the horror smashDevon and Cornwall Police
He lost control after racing past a lorry on the wet road – swerving across the lane into traffic.
Footage shows Chai’s car rocketing head-on into a Mitsubishi and a Kia.
Nine people suffered injuries in the horror smash, and five including Chai were seriously hurt.
Chai admitted four offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Exeter Crown Court.
He said he panicked after realising he was not in an overtaking lane and was about to collide with oncoming cars.
But Chai has been spared jail and handed a suspended sentence along with a curfew.
He previously had a clean licence but has now been banned from driving for three years.
Chai was on his way from his Surrey home to Cornwall and had been behind the wheel for more than two hours.
He tried to overtake the lorry at Rawbridge near the Somerset border – battling wet conditions on the road.
Chai slipped back into the correct lane after overtaking the lorry, before losing control as he swerved to dodge a traffic island.
The HGV was travelling at the 50mph speed limit when Chai sped past, prosecutor Beth Rickerby said.
His car then fishtailed into the oncoming lane, where it smashed into a Mitsubishi.
Chai had his wife and mother-in-law in the back, and the Mitsubishi contained two adults and two children.
A Kia with two adult passengers smashed into the wreckage in a three-car pile-up.
The Mitsubishi’s driver was a gran-of-three who suffered fractures to her spine and ankle.
A male passenger in the Kia also suffered multiple fractures to his ankle.
Both victims said the crash had caused ongoing physical pain and psychological damage.
Chai’s wife suffered three fractures to her pelvis and breaks in her spine.
His mother-in-law needed operations to repair damage to her lung and breaks to her ribs.
Chai himself was airlifted and put into a 24-hour coma by doctors before surgery on his pelvis and ribs.
‘HEAT OF THE MOMENT’
Lisa Denley, defending, said Chai had rested before getting behind the wheel.
She told the court: “He then made a serious mistake and hates himself for it.
“It was only when he pulled out that he became aware it wasn’t a second lane.
“He felt committed at that stage and decided in the heat of the moment he needed to complete the manoeuvre as soon as possible.
“He was panicking and incredibly stressed thinking he was about to be involved in an accident.
“He thought he was going to cause injury to his wife and mother-in-law.
“It was a momentary lapse in concentration. A very serious error.”
‘GENUINELY SORRY’
Character references from friends praised Chai’s good character and sense of moral responsibility.
Chai said he thinks about what he did every day and thought he would go to prison.
Recorder Bromige said a responsible motorist would never have been driving so fast in the wet conditions.
He said it was clearly dangerous for Chai to try and execute an overtake.
But he accepted Chai failed to recognise the right-turn was not an overtaking lane and that he is genuinely sorry.
Chai, from Woking, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.
He was given a three-month home curfew, fined £2,000, banned from driving for three years and told to pay costs of £650.
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