|
A man has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving following a collision in Godstone.
On the evening of Friday, 7 March 2025, Surrey Police was notified about a vehicle entering Surrey using cloned number plates. Less than 20 minutes later, officers had located the vehicle, a silver Kia Sedona, and started to track it along the A22 Godstone Road, Whyteleafe.
A second police vehicle joined and a pursuit was initiated when the Kia failed to stop for police. The driver tried to evade police by dangerously speeding through Limpsfield, driving on the wrong side of the road, ignoring three keep-left bollards, and circling a roundabout the wrong way.
The vehicle continued towards Oxted on the A25, ignoring a set of red traffic lights and travelling at 60mph in a 30mph zone. At one point the Kia temporarily strayed off the carriageway over the pavement before getting back on the road.
The Kia reached approximately 80mph in a 50mph zone as it entered the bend approaching the Knights Garden Centre in Godstone, where the driver overtook traffic on the wrong side of the road. The driver continued on the wrong side over the brow of the hill where he collided head on with the driver of a Land Rover.
The driver of the Kia, Thomas Murphy, was arrested at the scene. Blood samples taken after the collision later showed that he was at least three times over the legal drug limit.
Thomas Murphy, 36 (DOB: 05/02/1989) of St Leonards-on-Sea was subsequently charged with three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving without insurance, failure to stop for police and driving over the prescribed drug limit.
Murphy had a provisional driving license which had expired.
A family of three in the Land Rover all suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospital. Their injuries were life changing for the mother and daughter involved and impacted both their careers in the performing arts.
In her victim personal statement, the mother said: “The action of the driver, who was driving after taking drugs and was evading police, who deliberately drove a car he didn’t own and without any insurance, into my family at recklessly high speed on the wrong side of the road has changed my life forever. The impact has left me disfigured for life and with injuries that will never recover to where I was before this completely avoidable crash.”
Her daughter shared: “For as long as I can remember I have been a dancer, singer and actor. All of my performing potential was snatched away on 7th March 2025. The trauma of this crash, the physical damage to me and my parents and the loss of my dream has had a profound effect on my confidence and optimism for the future and who I am now. People say we were lucky, but I don’t feel lucky.”
Murphy was travelling with a passenger and a dog, both who suffered injuries.
At sentencing at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday, 25 September, Murphy was sentenced to five years in custody for each count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving to be served concurrently and was disqualified from driving for 12 years.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Sean Stapley said: “Murphy showed a complete disregard for both the law and safety of anyone else on the road, putting countless people’s lives at risk by driving dangerously under the influence of drugs while he attempted to evade police.
“His dangerous actions seriously injured three people and have impacted their lives hugely. I hope that Murphy’s time behind bars will give him chance to think about his actions and the devastating consequences for this family. We will continue to target those drivers who ignore the laws of the road.”
| 
