Disqualified driver jailed following serious collision in Longfield
A disqualified driver who concocted a story after two people were seriously injured in a car he was driving has been jailed for more than four years. Scott Valero-Stewart, 26, of Rushy Meadow Lane, Surrey, was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court after a jury found him guilty of one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury while driving whilst disqualified. He was also found guilty of breaching a suspended sentence and was jailed for a total of four years and four months on 4 March 2019. The jury heard how on 20 April 2017 Valero-Stewart had been driving at around 12.30am when he veered across Whitehall Road, Longfield, before colliding with trees. The car rolled onto its roof and two passengers inside the vehicle sustained serious injuries and a third passenger received minor injuries. Following the collision Valero-Stewart denied being the driver of the car and instead told officers that two other men had been driving the car and that they had ran from the scene. This resulted in an extensive area search involving police dogs and the police helicopter. During the investigation officers found that Valero-Stewart had bought the car the previous evening and had driven it without insurance. He was also disqualified from driving during the incident due to a previous offence of dangerous driving in 2016 where he had been handed a 24 month suspended sentenced. As well as being sentenced on 4 March the judge also disqualified Valero-Stewart from driving for five years and two months. Investigating officer Police Sergeant Peter Greaves from Kent Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: ‘This was an incident which could have been wholly avoided if Valero-Stewart had complied with his driving disqualification and not got behind the wheel. ‘His actions resulted in two people receiving serious injuries and it is only sheer luck that nobody was killed in this collision. He wasted police time and resources by making up a story following the collision and continued to deny responsibility by pleading not guilty. ‘I hope his sentence serves as a reminder to others that the law is there for a reason and should be abided by.’
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