Man jailed after woman injured in Cranleigh hit and run crash

Police say that 21-year-old Alexander Berry was speeding through Cranleigh on the wrong side of the road in a BMW 316 when he ploughed into a 48-year-old woman, narrowly missing her two children.

As well as the two-year jail sentence, Berry was also banned from driving for six years after he was found guilty of causing injury by dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of a collision when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court yesterday (February 11).

The court heard how the hit and run happened at around 8pm on November 17 2018 as the woman was crossing the road after watching the village’s annual Christmas lights switch-on, say police.

Witnesses described Berry - from Dorking - driving his BMW at excess speed and overtaking traffic as he drove through Cranleigh towards Guildford.

A police spokesman said: “At the time of the collision, Berry was driving on the wrong side of the road and had gone the wrong way around a central pedestrian traffic island.

“His car struck the 48-year-old woman on her right hand side, narrowly missing her 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son who were with her at the time.

“He failed to stop and later abandoned his car near Rudgwick.

“The next day be boarded a flight for a pre-planned trip to Amsterdam. However, later that night, he called police and admitted to being the driver of the car, before handing himself in a few days later.”

Sergeant Gary Lefort from Surrey Police’s Roads Policing Unit, which investigated the collision, said: “The victim was left with life-changing injuries, including significantly decreased movement in her shoulders, and suffers from anxiety and panic attacks as a result of the collision.

“The crash has also had a massive impact on her children, who have had to take on extra responsibilities at a young age as a result of their mother being physically unable to look after them.

“I hope that the sentence given to Berry will go some way towards helping her move on with her life.

“The prison sentence given to Berry reflects the severity of what he has done, by not only driving recklessly and endangering other road users, but also failing to stop despite the fact that he would have known what he had done.

“This has been a lengthy and complex investigation but the outcome today demonstrates that dangerous and irresponsible driving on our roads will not be tolerated.”