A drink-driver who ran over a firefighter, pinning him to another vehicle and breaking his legs, has been jailed.
Jill Carvell, aged 61, was almost three times the legal limit when she caused the severe injuries to the life-saving firefighter.
Carvell was in a Dacia Duster when she reversed at speed in Louise Street, Gornal.
She hit the off-duty firefighter, trapping him between her car and a stationary vehicle.
The 55-year-old veteran firefighter, who was just weeks away from retiring, suffered breaks to both of his legs.
He is said to be making a good recovery following the horror crash on Saturday 4 July last year. But has now left the fire service and faces a long period of rehabilitation.
Following the collision, Carvell was arrested, and a breath test showed she had 100 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – almost three times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.
Carvell was interviewed by officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit (West Midlands Police) the following day.
She admitted that she had driven dangerously and that she was drunk at the time of the horrific smash.
Carvell, of Osberton Drive, Dudley, was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday (8 Jan) after pleading guilty to driving with excess alcohol and causing serious injury due to dangerous driving.
Judge Berlin sentenced her to 18 months in custody and disqualified her from driving for four years and nine months.
On passing sentence, Judge Berlin said that it was ‘necessary to imprison Carvell’ as he believed she posed a ‘danger to the public due to her behaviour’.
Sergeant Mark Crozier of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said:
“Once again, this collision highlights the dangers of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol and the devastating consequences that result from it.
“The firefighter suffered injuries that ended his career and the thoughts of all at West Midlands Police are with him whilst he continues to make a recovery.”
Stay up-to-date with more news from the front line by subscribing to our free newsletter. Subscribe by clicking HERE.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
Another useless sentence, what is wrong with our judges. She should be locked up for 5 years
Sentences are far too lenient