Man jailed following collision which caused bus to collide with house

A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after causing a collision which made a Bristol home ‘unliveable’.

Lawrence Salaou, of no fixed address, appeared at Bristol Crown Court today (Thursday 20 April) after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.

The court heard how, on Thursday 15 December last year, Salaou was driving a VW Golf at speed through a 20mph zone, through a red light and struck a bus, which then veered off the road and collided with a house on Highridge Road, Bishopsworth.

Thankfully, no-one was seriously injured in the collision, however the house was badly damaged, with an estimated £300,000-worth of repairs needed.

Officers from the force’s Operation Remedy team worked hard to carry out CCTV and forensic enquiries, using blood from the airbag to identify Salaou as the driver. His passenger was also identified and arrested before being released without charge.

Salou and his passenger left the scene on foot, leaving the car.

Operation Remedy Insp Steve Davey said: “The manner in which Salaou was driving was dangerous and it’s very fortunate that nobody was injured in the collision.

“However, the incident has left a family displaced and without a home for a number of months, as the condition of their home can only be described as unliveable.

“We hope that this sentence serves as a deterrent to anyone thinking of driving dangerously on our roads and provides justice to those who were on the bus and who own the badly damaged house.”