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Haverhill man Jan Adamec jailed for Shaun Whiter and Joey Abbs horror crash
Shaun Whiter and Joey Abbs. - Credit: Sarah Lucy brown
A driver has been jailed for 40 months after leaving the scene of a car crash that left 27-year-old Shaun Whiter in need of a double leg amputation and Soham Town Rangers footballer Joey Abbs with serious leg injuries.
Jan Adamec has been jailed for 40 months. - Credit: Archant
Jan Adamec, 40, of Shetland Road, Haverhill, initially pleaded not guilty to two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving to Shaun Whiter and his friend Joey Abbs, 31, but later changed his plea to guilty.
At Cambridge Crown Court this afternoon, Adamec was sentenced to 40 months (three years and four months) by the judge. He would have been jailed for five years but it was reduced by a third in light of his guilty plea.
Mr Whiter and Mr Abbs were injured in the incident on July 1. Mr Whiter, 27, who was due to sign for Newmarket Town Football Club this season, had gone to help his friend Joey Abbs whose car had a puncture on Dullingham Road, near Newmarket.
As the two men were preparing to change a tyre on Mr Abbs’ car, at around 10.50pm, Adamec’s Ford Focus crashed into the back of the two parked cars, crushing the two men.
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Mr Abbs, 31, also received life-changing serious leg injuries.
Adamec fled the scene and was arrested a week later by Cambridgeshire Police, who described it at the time as a “heinous” offence.
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PC James Thorne from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit said: “Adamec showed a complete disregard for other road users and acted in a cowardly manner when he decided to leave Shaun and Joey by the roadside who were in need of urgent medical care.
“This sentence should serve as a deterrent to those persons who treat the roads like a playground. I would like to remind everyone that if you are involved in a collision where injury is caused, you must stop at the scene and report the collision to police.”
Mr Whiter is engaged and due to marry his fiancée Charlotte Way on July 21 next year. He has vowed that he will still walk down the aisle and says he would like to start training to become a para-athlete.
