Brentford Drug Driver Jailed for Causing Head-on Collision
Charles Bedworth claimed his drink has been spiked
Charles Bedworth . Picture: Sussex Police
May 30, 2024
A man from Brentford responsible for a head-on collision in which another driver was seriously injured has been jailed for four years.
37-year-old Charles Bedworth of Justin Close was driving on a B-road near Chichester at around 7.40am on 10 June last year.
A motorist in a Range Rover ahead of Bedworth had indicated to make a right turn but Bedworth, driving at speed in an Audi Q5, failed to see the vehicle ahead braking.
At the last moment, he swerved into the path of an oncoming Kia Picanto. The driver, a 53-year-old local man from Selsey, was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries and continues to require ongoing treatment and rehabilitation.
When the police arrived at the scene, Bedworth was given a roadside DrugWipe test which indicated cocaine in his body and his later blood test showed he had 296 micrograms (ug) of the chemical breakdown of cocaine, called benzoylecgonine, per litre of blood in his body.
The legal limit for this chemical breakdown product is 50ug per litre of blood in the body.
When interviewed later he denied taking any drugs and suggested he may have had his drink spiked while dining at a restaurant. When asked how two independent tests could be wrong and if he had taken any drugs in the seven days prior to the collision, he refused to answer.
At Portsmouth Crown Court on 10 May, unemployed Bedworth admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drug-driving.
As well as his jail term he was disqualified from driving for five years.
Police at the scene in the aftermath of the collision
Investigating officer PC Tom Van Der Wee from the Roads Policing Unit said, “Bedworth’s driving was appalling and dangerous.
“Due to a distraction, he failed to see a vehicle slowing down, braking and indicating ahead of him, and reacted far too late.
“He swerved to avoid a collision with the vehicle ahead of him, but instead caused a devastating collision to the driver of the oncoming Kia.
“The case shows why we are determined to catch drug drivers before they cause similar harm to other innocent road users.
“Bedworth is incredibly lucky not to have caused the death or further serious harm to himself and others that day.”
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