A DRINK driver placed an 80mph "missile" on a busy residential road in Exeter before causing an horrific crash that left a mother - travelling with her two young sons - with serious injuries.
Shane Skinner has been warned he faces jail after he admitted causing a serious injury by dangerous driving on Pinhoe Road. He also pleaded guilty to drink driving.
And his reckless actions have been condemned by a leading police officer who said it was miraculous no-one was killed.
Sgt Richard Newton, of the serious collision investigation unit in Exeter, described it as the most shocking piece of driving he has come across during 20 years in the job.
The victim, a 32-year-old woman from Woodbury, spent five weeks in hospital after the crash and the court heard she suffered serious leg and facial injuries and her sight may be permanently damaged.
Skinner was more than twice the drink drive limit when he lost control and ploughed at high speed into her people carrier on a busy Sunday afternoon in May.
Her two young children, aged and two and four, were looked after by strangers at the scene but remarkably walked away relatively unharmed.
Sgt Newton, who was the lead investigator in the case, said: "It does not get any more severe than this. It was an appalling piece of driving on an urban 30mph section of road with houses either side. It was a nice sunny Sunday afternoon with families just out enjoying themselves.
"Skinner, driving the way he did, then decides to place a missile in the middle of that. In doing so, everyone in that area was placed in potential danger.
"Had he not hit the woman he did, I have no doubt he would have hit something or somebody else. He was so out of control and she just happened to be there.
"It turned out that one woman was very severely injured. But purely down to luck no-one was killed and miraculous is not too strong a word to use for that outcome. It was remarkable given the level of damage and that the children in particular were not more severely injured.
"We have all seen other incidents that have been a lot less severe on the surface where people have lost their lives."
Exeter magistrates court heard Skinner, 42, of Widgery Road, Exeter, has two previous drink drive convictions.
Prosecutor Chris Bittlestone said Skinner was speeding at 80mph in a 30mph limit and lost control and careered over the road and caused a 'substantial collision' which left a young mum with very serious injuries.
District Judge Stephen Nicholls sent Skinner to the crown court in Exeter to be sentenced in January and he was released on bail.
The victim did not want to comment on the guilty verdict. But he previously revealed the crash has resulted in months of intensive rehabilitation, physiotherapy and further operations after breaking 10 bones.
And she said she felt "incredibly lucky" to be alive after being told by emergency services it was a miracle anyone survived the crash.
She said she was especially grateful that her sons, aged two and four, who were passengers in the vehicle, walked away relatively unharmed.
She said: "Words cannot describe how I feel about my boys pretty much walking away. It makes it a lot easier to live with being temporarily disabled.
"The emergency services said to me they don't understand how it was possible anyone was still alive having looked at the state of my car. It is a miracle my boys were not more seriously hurt."
The collision involved a white Subaru Legacy and a red Vauxhall Agila close to the Whipton Village shops.
The woman said she was travelling to meet a friend when her life changed in an instant.
She said: "I remember pretty much nothing about what happened. It was all over in a split second and my only memory for about a week was another car coming towards my windscreen.
"But even my boys came off relatively unscathed physically, only time will tell if there are any emotional issues to deal with as they both remained conscious the whole time and remember the whole ordeal.
"This included seeing their mum trapped and covered in blood fading in and out of consciousness."
The victim was flown by air ambulance to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and was eventually transferred to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
"When I eventually woke up, I was traumatised and did not know what happened or where I was," she said.
"I did not know where my children were.
"My family had to explain everything that happened.
"All I wanted to know was if my children were ok. I had gone to Derriford and they went to the RD&E.
"I had two massive black eyes, a broken nose, two broken legs and was smashed to pieces. I did not want my children to see me like that so I didn't see them for a week and a half."
The woman also said she wanted to thank everyone who helped her and her children on the day and during her recovery.
