Mum who was breastfeeding baby in back of BMW was left in coma after ‘impatient’ husband smashed into oncoming car on A509

A man crashed his car into an oncoming vehicle while overtaking as his wife breastfed their baby in the back seat.

The woman was in a coma for ten days and suffered a brain bleed and two skull fractures during the smash on the A509 between Bozeat and Wollaston.

Romanian Florin-Vasile Apetrei was charged with with causing serious injury by dangerous driving following the incident on October 19, 2021.

His cousin was in the front passenger seat and his wife was in the back, wearing no seatbelt, while feeding their one-year-old daughter. Their son, aged five, was also in rear seat.

The 33-year-old contractor appeared at Northampton Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday (May 4) where he admitted the charge against him and offered his apologies to the court.

Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane was told the Apetrei was driving his BMW 5 series in heavy rain at about 9pm on the night in question. There were no streetlights.

Apetrei, of Northampton Road, Wellingborough, had been following a Scania HGV southbound along the A509 when he grew ‘impatient’ and tried to complete an overtaking manoeuvre as both vehicles exited a roundabout.

The driver of a VW Passat estate coming in the other direction said he saw Apetrei’s car emerging from behind the HGV and braked but could not avoid hitting it. The other driver was left with bruising to his ribs but no serious injuries.

But the family of Apetrei, who was assisted in court by an interpreter, were all taken to University Hospital Coventry.

His children suffered no serious injuries but his wife had a skull fracture, a fracture to her C1 vertebrae, a laceration to the side of her head and a subdural haemorrhage. She has recovered and suffered no long-term damage.

In mitigation, his solicitor Andrew Brumhill said his client had no previous convictions, adding: “The defendant is mortified about being in court.

"He wants to express his apologies to the court, to the other person involved in the incident and to his wife who sits in court today.

"He arrived in the UK in 2016 and he’s been in full time work ever since. He’s proud of the fact that he and his wife saved up a £31,000 deposit for his house that they purchased in August 2021.

"He’s a hard-working individual. A ten-second bad decision could have had much more serious consequences.

Judge Crane said she would follow recommendations in a pre-sentence report to spare Apetrei a jail sentence.

He was given a 12-month community order including 150 hours of unpaid work. He was banned from driving for two years and will have to undertake a mandatory re-test before being allowed to drive again. Apetrei was also ordered to pay the prosecution costs of £340 as well as a victim surcharge.

- A 39-year-old man arrested following the accident on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drink driving was later released without charge.