Driver 'extremely lucky' to avoid jail after crashing through garden walls in Scarborough

Steven Asker, 33, was nearly three times over the limit when his car clipped a kerb, spun across the road and crashed through residential walls on Burniston Road.

Asker, who worked as a chef, was travelling at speeds of between 80mph and 90mph when the vehicle spun out of control and ended up on a grass verge, prosecutor Brooke Morrison told York Crown Court.

His partner, who was one of three passengers in the vehicle, suffered serious injuries including three spinal fractures.

Her injuries were so severe she was now unable to do everyday tasks and was “still struggling on a daily basis”.

Ms Morrison said the two gardens had “effectively been destroyed” in the crash.

The combined repair bill for the two owners of the properties came to £650, which they paid through their insurance excess.

She said that before the horrific accident on November 28, 2022, Asker and his partner, who was named in court, had been at a family party on Prospect Road, Scarborough, between 1.30pm and 11.30pm.

“The defendant had been drinking alcohol during the party,” added Ms Morrison.

After leaving the family gathering late at night, Asker, his partner, her cousin and two other passengers got into the vehicle.

His partner was in the back seat and her cousin was in the front passenger seat.

Ms Morrison said that instead of driving directly to his home in Corn Mill Gardens, Scarborough, Asker inexplicably took a circuitous route, driving “up and down the streets in a reckless manner throughout”.

As he drove along Burniston Road, the vehicle was travelling at up to 90mph when it hit a kerb, causing the vehicle to “spin across the road, through two garden walls on the opposite side of the road, coming to a stop on a grass verge”.

“Extensive damage was caused to the vehicle, such that (the named front-seat passenger) had to climb across (Asker) to get out of the car as (the passenger door) wouldn’t open,” added Ms Morrison.

The male front-seat passenger, who wasn’t injured, helped two others out of the car.

They were also unharmed.

A neighbour, who happened to be an ex-police officer, rushed to the scene and found Asker trapped inside the car - though no longer in the driver’s seat - and his partner with serious injuries.

“(Asker) had to be cut of the car (by the emergency services),” said Ms Morrison.

Asker, who appeared to be slurring his words, was unharmed but his partner had suffered three fractured vertebrae and severe bruising to the side of her head.

He was arrested but told police he couldn’t recall the incident and claimed he was not the driver, trying to pin the blame on an unknown man who appeared to be fictitious.

A drink-drive test revealed that Asker had 99mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

The legal alcohol limit is 35mcg.

In May last year at the lower court, he was given a community order and three-and-a-half-year driving ban for drink-driving and driving without insurance during the same incident.

However, for reasons unknown, he wasn’t charged with the substantive offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving until over a year after the incident.

He ultimately admitted that offence and appeared for sentence at the Crown Court today (Mar 5).

Ms Morrison said that Asker’s partner was “still suffering on a daily basis and requires (Asker’s) assistance with daily tasks”.

Her mental health had been affected and she still suffered pain from the three spinal fractures which required daily medication.

Asker, a father-of-two, had previous convictions for five offences including drink-driving in 2019, when he again received a driving ban.

Defence barrister Emily Hassell said Asker had to give up his work as a chef to look after his partner following the accident.

He was now relying on state benefits.

Judge Deborah Sherwin told Asker: “You were way over the limit when you drove that night…(and) caused all sorts of damage to the gardens and in particular to your partner”.

She said he “richly deserved” to go to jail, “but that wouldn’t just be punishing you, it would (also) be punishing your partner”.

Mrs Sherwin also noted that the victim had written a letter telling the court how the case had been “hanging over” her and her partner for over a year and how Asker had been working hard to care for her since the accident.

The judge said that for those reasons, and the fact that Askew had pleaded guilty, she could “just row back” from an immediate prison sentence.

Imposing a two-year suspended jail sentence, she told Asker he had been “extremely fortunate” to avoid jail.

Asker was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and pay a combined £300 compensation to the owners whose properties had been damaged.

He was given a new three-year driving ban.