A police officer has been jailed after he failed to stop at a junction and crashed into a driver, causing her life-threatening injuries.
Misho Tamoev, who was until today a serving officer with Bedfordshire Police, was having a conversation with his wife, who was also in the car, when his Mercedes C320 sped through the junction of Big Lane and Paudy Lane near Sileby, to the north-east of Leicester.
His car ploughed into the side of the victim’s Mazda MX5, sending it smashing into a van stopped on the opposite side of Big Lane.
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The crumpled Mazda ended up a short distance from the van, on the grass verge.
The victim, a woman in her 60s, was knocked unconscious and suffered numerous broken bones, as well as a ruptured spleen that caused internal bleeding, requiring life-saving surgery.
PC Tamoev, 43, appeared at Leicester Crown Court today (Thursday, May 7) for sentencing after admitting causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving.
Prosecutor Josephine Loft said that in his statement to his insurance company later that day, PC Tamoev claimed there were “no proper road signs” and “no road markings”.
She described the Big Lane approach to the give-way junction and the numerous warnings from 150 yards before the junction, including an illuminated give-way sign and blue rumble strips on the road to alert drivers of the junction ahead.
She said the “extremely forceful impact” happened at about 12.30pm on Sunday, November 23, 2024, and the victim had to spend 13 nights in hospital, at first in the intensive care ward at Leicester Royal Infirmary. She remains unable to return to work due to her injuries.
As well as the life-threatening internal injury – which required the removal of part of her spleen, leaving her more at risk of infections for the rest of her life – she suffered a broken vertebra, two broken ribs, two breaks to her pelvis, cuts to her hand and head and an “arterial dislocation” in her neck.
Her victim statement was read out by Ms Loft, in which she described being “lucky to be alive” after the crash. The victim attended the hearing via videolink from New Zealand.
In the statement she described regaining consciousness moments after the crash and being unable to get out of the damaged car until she was cut free by firefighters.
She feared the powder from the deployed airbags was smoke. She said: “I was terrified my car was going to explode and I was going to burn to death.”
She added that the memories of the crash “haunt me on a daily basis” and that she had to give up her occupational therapist job since the crash, which had a “devastating” effect on her life.
She said: “I can’t understand how the driver missed the junction despite so many warning signs.”
The court heard that just months before the crash, PC Tamoev had been temporarily suspended from driving a police response vehicle by his police force after concerns over his driving. He remained suspended for several weeks before passing an assessment.
James Varley, representing Tamoev, said: “The brow of the hill conceals the junction. It’s known to be a dodgy junction.
“There are a number of signs and there must have been a couple of seconds of not noticing. It’s unintentional, genuinely careless driving.”
He said Tamoev, of Grasmere Avenue, Luton, had been driving with his wife and nine-year-old daughter to a family event. He said: “His attention has dipped and that, tragically, is all that it takes.”
He said Tamoev had been a PCSO and later a PC for Bedfordshire Police for the past eight years, “serving the public”, and had been present at numerous “dreadful road traffic collisions” over the years.
Mr Varley urged Judge Keith Raynor not to jail his client, saying it would lead to the loss of the family’s income, the loss of Tamoev’s job and added that life in prison would inevitably be harder for a police officer.
He said the Bedfordshire force had kept him on despite his conviction but that he would lose the job if jailed.
The judge described the numerous road markings and road signs that make it clear to drivers that they are approaching the junction, saying there were 11 different warnings in total for motorists approaching the junction.
Commenting on Tamoev’s statement to his insurance company about the lack of warnings, Judge Raynor said: “It’s plain there are road markings and talk of ‘not proper road signs’ does not seem to be consistent with [the evidence].
“In this case it was wilful carelessness and it was not far short of dangerous driving.”
He jailed Tamoev for 10 months, saying he was unable to suspend the sentence due to the seriousness of the crime and the previous concerns over Tamoev’s driving by Bedfordshire Police. Tamoev was also banned from driving for two years and five months.