Audi driver banned after causing crash that sent army vehicle flying

A motorist has been banned from the road for a year after a crash that wrecked a military SUV and left one person with a suspected broken back.

Crenguta Aruxandei caused an Army-owned Land Rover Defender to crash after switching between the outside and inside lanes to come off the A43 near Hulcote in Northamptonshire.

Dashcam footage shows the military 4×4 inverting on the dual-carriageway after it was forced to evade Aruxandei’s Audi Q2 at 8.35am on January 10 this year.

The military vehicle was travelling with a trailer in a convoy with another Land Rover following behind, which managed to stop safely after the incident.

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The 36-year-old driver of the crashed military Land Rover was taken to University Hospital Coventry with a suspected fractured back.

His 31-year-old passenger sustained a significant head injury and was taken to Northampton General Hospital.

Aruxandei, 44, was charged with two counts of causing serious injury by careless driving.

She pleaded guilty after initially electing to take the case to a trial at a county court, changing her mind before a jury was sworn in.

The driver was handed a six-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months at Northampton Crown Court and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154.

She is also barred from driving for a year and will have to sit an extended to test to regain her licence.

DC Eleanor Hudson said: ‘Holding a driving licence is a privilege and a responsibility and there is no place on our roads for drivers who put the lives of innocent members of the public at risk.

‘This was a completely avoidable collision on one of our major roads, which has left two other road users seriously injured and I am pleased that Crenguta Aruxandei will not be able to get back behind the wheel without passing an extended test to ensure she is safe to do so.

‘Reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads remains a priority for Northamptonshire Police and our partners at the Northamptonshire Safer Roads Alliance.

‘We will continue to take robust action to remove unsafe drivers from our roads.’
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