Tom Le Prevost hopes the pain he has suffered since crashing his car in the early hours will act as a warning to others. He is seen with Sergeant John Tostevin, who has praised him for telling his story to warn others.
A MOTORIST who almost died in a crash wants other people to learn from his experience.
Tom Le Prevost, 21, spent four months in hospital, including 10 days in the intensive care unit, after his car collided with a granite pillar at North Side, Vale.
His right leg, which is now pinned, was shattered, his pelvis and collarbone were broken and he suffered serious internal injuries.
The IT worker at a finance company needed 21 units of blood following the accident. He nearly died twice – once at the scene and again during a seven-and-a-half hour long emergency operation which followed.
He has undergone eight operations. Others to fit a stent to his aorta, which it emerged later had been damaged in the crash, and to repair internal organs are still to come.
‘It shows just how a moment of stupidity can cause 12 months of pain and anguish and it could easily have been much worse,’ he said.
Mr Le Prevost admitted he was exceeding the speed limit when he crashed his 2.5-litre turbo-charged Nissan Skyline while taking a friend home at about 3.40am on February Sunday.
‘My passenger suffered a broken arm and I don’t know how I would have lived with consequences had the roles been reversed.
‘One of the police officers said it was the worst side impact crash he had seen in which nobody was killed,’ he said.
The vehicle, which was written off, will be displayed as part of a road safety initiative involving the three emergency services, which will be taken into schools next month.
Mr Le Prevost said the car, which he had owned for four weeks, was totally inappropriate for Guernsey roads. He admitted he had been showing off at the time.
After racing his previous car on the Nurburgring circuit in Germany, he decided it was not powerful enough.
He bought the Nissan with the intention of racing it on tracks only and had planned to buy a smaller vehicle for everyday use before fate intervened.
‘People should think before they buy cars like that, especially in Guernsey,’ said Mr Le Prevost.
Traffic sergeant John Tostevin said Mr Le Prevost’s message was one worth heeding.
‘After 20 years of road policing, it’s nice to meet somebody like this young man who is trying to do good from something that could have been worse,’ he said.
‘Some people use Guernsey roads as a race track during the hours of darkness and it’s only going to be with the assistance of people like Tom and the public generally that we are going to stop it.’
Mr Le Prevost said he would be forever grateful to the emergency services, particularly the medical team who had undoubtedly saved his life.
Blob: Mr Le Prevost was banned from driving for six months and fined £400 in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. He will also have to take his driving test again.
The crash also had a huge impact on Mr Le Prevost’s family.
Father Robin said little things brought chilling memories flooding back.
‘My wife, Debbie, and I were watching a drama on TV recently in which a character had to visit a mortuary to identify their son’s body,’ he said.
‘We both started to cry, we knew that that could easily have been us.’
A knock on the door when it was dark instantly reminded them of the 5am visit they had from a police officer to tell them of the crash.
Mr Le Prevost said his daughter, Abi, 16, believed the episode had changed the family forever.
‘She meant in a positive way, but she said it was still something she wouldn’t want anyone else to have to go through,’ he said.
Article posted on 23rd October, 2008 - 2.30pm
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15 Article Comments
Fair play to him to hold his hands up like this. Hope others heed his warning.
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This is good to read, to share what was an awful experience to have come through, which gladly you did.
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What a terrible waste of a Nissan Skyline.
At least he was driving a proper sports car - not one of those pansy Boxsters that are everywhere on the Island.
Go the GTRs!!!
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Refreshing to see a youth facing up to his responsibilities. Makes a change.
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Agree - hope others see what can happen in a moments lapse of concentration.
Unfortunately, driving too fast on roads with zero margin for error is the norm for a lot of drivers over here.
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There are not enough policemen/women to stop idiots driving fast on Guernsey roads, there should be more people who stand up and admit how a moment of stupidity can have consequenses. Well done for living through this tragedy which could have ended a lot lot worse, and such a shame that tens of thousands of pounds of tax payers money was used to fund all the operations and public service necessary to recover and repair his body and vehicle over the last 12 months!!! I hope a big fine and ban was imposed?
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Zoe
You appear so very cold I am surprised you haven’t frozen over. I am sure if this was your boyfriend, brother or son you would have a very different outlook.
So he exceeded the speed limit. We have all been guilty of this at some stage or another. He seems a well balanced lad and has lost a lot as a consequence of his single mistake.
To flag up costings of tretment ect is disgraseful. Life should be preserved at all costs. We are all human and prone to errors but I am guessing that you are one of the perfect people that never has and never will make a mistake.
To the people that read this thread. GIVE BLOOD. It might be you or me that needs it next.
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Paul, I would expect the same treatment as this lad if me or a loved one was in need. What I am trying to point out is that it was his own stupidity that got him in this mess, and the whole point of his story being published was to warn other stupid young people doing the same thing. I never said I was perfect, but you wouldn’t be sticking up for him if he had killed someone in that car would you? He is lucky he is alive and without the fantastic care and skill of the team of people that cared for him he would be dead now. One moment of stupidity lead to a year of care and healing!! get real Paul, he was breaking the law and should be made a spectacle of, name and shame is the best way!!
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Zoe
Point taken!
The point that I was making is aren’t we all stupid at such a young age? If I had a car like the one he crashed, at his age, I most definately would be going a lot faster than 45mph. At that time of the morning with a clear road ahead of me it would have probably been closer to 145mph and I would loved it in a big way. Maybe there should be a limit on the maximum amount of horse power that an inexperienced driver should be allowed behind the wheel of? We are all stupid at times. This is especially true when we are young and full of misplaced confidence.
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The problem is that young inexperianced drivers are allowed to jump into high performance cars & they are at the age of showing off to mates & trying to impress girls…
There is absolutly no need for high performance cars in Guernsey so why do we allow them?! Youngsters are only allowed to ride low powered motorcycles for a few years - then they have to re-take their test to move up to a higher powered machine - why dont we implement this law to cars as well??
What does surprise me is that every year we have youngsters dying on our roads & still - we do nothing… The states have a duty to protect the public from idiots on the roads - when will something be done - after an innocent young family is wiped out walking on a pavement??
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WH Bonney has a point. Perhaps a scheme that restricts the engine size/power of vehicles an individual can drive could be introduced, based on age, length of time licence held and number of relevant convictions?
As for this case, I am pleased the way it was handled both by the magistrate and the young man involved. Common sense has been shown by both.
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W H Bonney is quite right - there is absolutely no need for any kind of performance car in Guernsey. That sadly would get rid of every car on the road today. 35mph speed limit…my 1.6 diesel Fiesta can max at 115mph thats 4 times the speed limit - so its a performance car!
That aside 20 years ago I couldn’t afford the equivalent of a Skyline (e.g. Lancia Stratos) so at this idiots age I had to settle for a ‘67 Princess 1100 which was pants and could barely make the speed limit! And therefore difficult to “total”. By the time I got my first “fast” car I was in my late 20’s - did I loon? Nope… had realised respect for not only my life but the lives of others.
As previously posted it would certainly be an idea to limit the power of cars available to, say, under 25’s. But you can still do huge amounts of damage even a Smart.
Despite my reference to idiot earlier fair play to the lad for what he’s done.
Lets hope his insurance company are there as well to explain why they covered a 21 year old to drive a car like this!
Sadly others, unlike Tom, were far less fortunate.
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I totally agree with the points raised. There absolutely should be a maximum cc (e.g 1.1) on young drivers until they have x amount of years claim and conviction free before they can be insured for vehicles over a 1.6 for example.
The problem is that some of these youngster are in high paid jobs and with expendable income and can afford to buy and insure these beasty cars. Most insurance companies will not consider cars such as this until aged over 25. This should be across the board…….I hope someone is listening out there??
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I know that this is an old post and hope that Zoe reads this….. ‘He who without sin cast the first stone?!’ Ring any bells…
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I dont think a restriction should be in place, I am 20, I do not speed, When I want to speed I go to England and onto a track where I can, its not hard..
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