A RECKLESS driver who almost killed one of his companions has been jailed.

Passenger Kristian Jackson was left in a coma for almost a month and suffered life-changing injuries as a result of the accident.

Witnesses described seeing a Ford Fiesta, driven by Michael Ryan Young, ‘squirming’ down Higher Audley Street in Blackburn before it crashed into an oncoming car in July of 2017.

The 28-year-old driver, who had been smoking cannabis and was disqualified from driving at the time of the crash, had three passengers onboard when the accident happened.

One of them, Kristian Jackson, was so badly injured that his parents were told by doctors that he was about to die, Preston’s Sessions House heard.

Young, of Hereford Road, Blackburn, had been repeatedly asked by his passengers to slow down before he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a Nissan Juke on the wet evening.

Paul Cummings, prosecuting, said: “A witness who was travelling along the road said that the Fiesta overtook him at a speed of around 60-70mph. He then saw the car move back on to the correct side of the road where it started ‘squirming’ and the rear end went across into the opposite lane. It was clear that the driver was trying to regain control.

“The driver of the other car tried to brake but it was simply too late, the defendant was driving too fast and he lost all control.”

One of the other passengers received a broken pelvis, but it was Mr Jackson who sustained the most severe injuries, including punctured lungs, a number of broken ribs, a bleed to the brain and a ruptured spleen.

He was rushed to the Royal Blackburn Hospital after being cut from the Fiesta by firefighters.

Mr Cummings added: “It was initially thought that his injuries were so serious that he may not survive.

"He was taken to hospital where he didn’t regain consciousness for three weeks. He also had his spleen removed which means he will now have to take medication for the rest of his life.”

Phil Turner, defending, said that in terms of the offence itself, it was a short piece of dangerous driving and the level of drugs found in his system were relatively low.

He said: “He shows remorse for the offence and he has written a letter for the complainant, Mr Jackson, which indicates that.”

Young pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving, one count of driving while uninsured and one count of driving while unfit through drugs.

He was also in breach of a suspended sentence order.

The scaffolder had previously committed a number of motor vehicle related offences, including theft of a car when he was just 15.

Sentencing Young to two-and-a-half years in prison and a four-year driving ban, Judge Simon Newall said: “This was not a one-off incident of dangerous driving but I accept the point that it did not go on for a significant distance.

"But there was dangerous driving in a built-up area of speeds of around 60mph. You were also overtaking.

"There were also significant worries from those travelling inside of your car.

An accident was almost inevitable. There was no death here and that has nothing to do with the way you drove. There could have been very easily.

“Kristian Jackson’s injuries are over a year-and-a-half old now and he still hasn’t recovered. There is no guarantee he will ever fully recovery. These were life changing injuries for a young man.”