Driver sent to custody for injuring pedestrian

A driver who knocked down a motorist who tried to stop him from causing a crash has been given a three-year custodial sentence.

Archie Glen McCann was apparently racing other vehicles on Upton Bypass on 29 March when a concerned motorist managed to block the road and approach the defendant on foot, Dorset Police said.

As McCann drove off, his car hit the pedestrian causing a skull fracture, a bleed to the brain, a broken leg and permanent deafness in one ear.

The 20-year-old, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at Bournemouth Crown Court to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The victim, a man in his 40s, was travelling in convoy with his brother at about 10:30 BST when they became alarmed by McCann's driving, police said.

Together, the pair brought traffic to a halt and the man walked towards McCann's Volkswagen Polo.

The defendant reversed into another vehicle before injuring the man and driving off the wrong way down a slip road, police said.

He then apparently fled to Scotland to escape justice but was tracked down and arrested on 16 July, officers added.

Det Con Molly James said: "Archie McCann's extremely reckless actions on Sunday 29 March 2026 left his victim with injuries that he will live with for the rest of his life."

The defendant was sent to a Young Offender Institution and was banned from driving for six years.