Man jailed for three years following Essex taxi crash seriously injuring several people

Image credit: Essex Police

A man has been jailed for three years after admitting causing a collision with a taxi that seriously injured several people in Frinton last year.

On Saturday 23 July 2022, Sean Dray was driving his BMW X5 at speed along Walton Road at around 10.30pm when he overtook one car on a blind bend along the single carriageway before colliding with a taxi carrying four fares further up the road.

The force of the rear impact caused the taxi, a Toyota Avensis, to spin out of control, coming to a stop when it crashed into a tree.

Sean Dray’s car collided with the wall of a house.

When police arrived, two people were trapped in the taxi which had extensive damage and needed assistance from emergency partners to get out, and four people from the taxi sustained serious injuries.

Sean Dray was arrested at the scene on suspicion of drink driving but refused to provide a blood sample in police custody.

During his interview, Dray explained that he was trying to overtake the taxi but had to take evasive action as he crossed over onto the wrong side of the road into the path of oncoming traffic.

Sean Dray, 30, appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 31 January where he pleaded guilty to four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

On Wednesday 19 April at Chelmsford Crown Court, he was jailed for three years and disqualified from driving for three and a half years.

Roads Policing Unit officer, PC Danny Wheeler, who led the investigation, said: “The victims of Sean Dray’s dangerous driving did not deserve what happened to them that night and it could certainly have been avoided.

“The Roads Policing Unit work hard to keep the roads in Essex safe. Our ambition is to have zero killed or seriously injured as a result of collisions by 2040 and we’ll continue to carry out routine patrols, targeting poor and dangerous driving through our Operation Vision Zero days.”