Doncaster woman injured two boys in her car while hunting assault men

A Doncaster woman was hunting the men who assaulted her friend's cousin when she hit two boys in her car and crashed into a wall, Sheffield Crown Court has heard.
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Leah Lanaghan was "mad and shaking" as she drove her white Peugeot 208 on Junction Road, Stainforth, at 9.25pm, on October 27, 2019, said prosecutor Ian Goldsack.

Realising the car was heading directly at them, the boys, aged nine and 12, attempted to get out of the way, but "there was some degree of impact with both of them."

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They sustained head, leg and ankle injuries and were treated at a local hospital.

Stock image of speeding.Stock image of speeding.
Stock image of speeding.

"I tried to catch up before they ran but I thought I was going to hit them so I hit the wall," Lanagham later told police, but denied she was driving at them.

Lanagham was driving with her friend after her friend's cousin had been "jumped" by a group of adult males. But the boys had nothing to do with that assault.

“I thought I was going to see them,” she told police. “I was too mad and shaking.”

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Dale Harris, mitigating, said: "She was perhaps overtaken by the emotions of the situation. Her friend was on the phone relaying information to the defendant.

“This is not an offence that should end in the imprisonment of this defendant. She has no previous convictions.

“She is quite a timid and shy person. Within a couple of weeks of the incident she was prescribed antidepressant medication.

“It was certainly out of character and plainly stupid. Her remorse is genuine. She is otherwise a thoroughly decent individual.”

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Lanagham, 23, of Kirton Lane, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, on October 6.

Recorder Gavin Doig told her: "It's extremely fortunate for the boys, and for you, that more serious injury was not caused.”

He sentenced her to 12 months, suspended for two years, because she is not deemed to be a serious risk and because of her strong personal mitigation.

Lanaghan must also carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and abide by a 9pm-to-7am curfew for the next three months. She was banned for two years and can't drive again until she passes the extended re-test.

Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court here.

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