Drug driver faces jail after causing £90,000 of damage when he smashed into house
A drug-using danger driver could be jailed after shock footage caught the moment he caused £90,000 of damage when he smashed his van into the front of a house.
Arron Straughair, 36, had the remnants of cocaine in his system when he lost control in Lilywhite Terrace, Easington Lane, and careered into the terraced property.
He was thrown through the windscreen of his Ford Transit when it rebounded into the wet road at 9.15pm on February 4, a court heard.
Straughair, of Brick Garth, Easington Lane, is believed to have escaped with minor injuries although a grandfather inside the house needed hospital treatment for dust inhalation.
The man and his wife were caring for their granddaughter and feared their home would collapse after feeling the shake of the crash.
CCTV showed Straughair travelling at a speed magistrates in South Tyneside said was “significantly” above the 30mph limit.
He is seen heading into a slight bend before careering to his right and into the building, his van then flipping onto its side.
Straughair could be jailed for up to two years after pleading guilty to charges of dangerous driving, drug driving and driving without insurance.
Prosecutor Glenda Beck said: “He is seen on footage to lose control at speed on a slight offside bend in the road.
“The vehicle goes across the right side of the carriageway before colliding with a house, causing £90,000 of structural damage.
“He was taken to hospital where a blood sample was taken.
“The occupiers of the house were present and said their young granddaughter was staying with them.
“They heard a huge bang and a crash coming from downstairs. He was downstairs at the time and confirmed that a van had come through the window.
“The dust made it difficult for him to breathe and he feared the house would collapse. He was taken to hospital and afterwards had a persistent cough.
“The Transit was in the street and the occupant was lying there. The police attended.
“During interview he made no comment but did say that he was driving the vehicle and shouldn’t have done what he did.
“He said it was selfish of him and he was sorry.”
Straughair gave a reading in blood for cocaine breakdown product BZE of greater than 200mcg. The legal limit is 50mcg.
He has a conviction for drink driving from October 2017 and was last before a court in 2022.
Paul McAlindon, defending, said it had not been proved how fast Straughair was driving, and he asked magistrates to keep the case at their court.
Mr McAlindon added: “I take issue with the crown because they say there was a high level of impairment because of his level of drugs.
“BZE was present which means he had taken cocaine sometime in the past. There is significant other mitigation.”
Magistrates told Straughair his offences were too serious for them to sentence and sent him to be dealt with by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court.
They handed him an interim driving ban and granted him unconditional bail to be sentenced at the crown court on Wednesday, October 7.