Swindon man disqualified from driving following Boxing Day collision

A man from Swindon has been disqualified from driving for 18 months following an early morning collision on Boxing Day.

Louis Tozer, 34, of Dixon Street, Swindon, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen of breath at Swindon Magistrates Court on 24 June.

In the early hours of 26 December 2021, a roads policing officer was in Hay Lane when his attention was drawn to a Volkswagen Golf which was being driven by Tozer at excess speed and was seen to contravene two red lights at the M4 junction 16 roundabout.

The officer activated his blue lights and sirens signalling for the driver to stop. The driver eventually lost control of the vehicle on a roundabout before colliding with a pedestrian barrier and coming to a stop on a footpath, with significant damage caused to the vehicle.

Tozer was arrested at the scene and later charged.

PC Jay Clifton, of the Roads Policing Unit, said: “The manner in which Tozer was driving his vehicle fell well below the standards you would expect of a competent driver. He was not only driving at excess speed, but he drove through two red lights and crashed through a pedestrian barrier.

"It is extremely fortunate that there were no pedestrians in the area at the time. His actions put the lives of other members of the public at serious risk and this will not be tolerated.”

As well as an 18 month driving ban, Tozer was given a four-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay £128 to victim services and £150 Crown Prosecution Service Costs.