A TEENAGER has just avoided an immediate custodial sentence after he injured a father and son by crashing into them on his off-road bike.

Finley Lloyd, 19, from Cwmbran was sent to a young offender institution for 10 months, suspended for 18 months, after he admitted dangerous driving.

He almost blinded a 16-year-old boy after he collided with the victim’s father’s car on February 20, Cardiff Crown Court was told.

The dad was dropping his son to work when Lloyd drove his motorbike head-on into the side of their car, shattering glass over them and leaving his motorbike torn in half.

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Prosecutor Alex Orndal said: "The defendant flew into the road and fragments of glass got into the victim’s eye, causing blood to gush from the area.”

A statement from the father read: "Since the incident I have struggled with my mental health in my day-to-day life.

"Every time I drive anywhere, I get flashbacks to that moment. It is pure luck that no one was killed, and my son wasn’t blinded’.”

Mr Orndal said the defendant was riding his bike at “approximately twice the speed limit” in the dark, with no lights, in a 30mph zone on Henllys Way in Cwmbran.

Lloyd sustained serious injuries, including two bleeds on the brain, two broken wrists and broken legs which led to him needing surgeries and spending 27 days in hospital. 

Since the incident, he has committed two more driving offences and received one conviction of drug driving.

Defence barrister Hannah Friedman asked Judge Vanessa Francis to consider Finley’s mental health as he was diagnosed with ADHD at age 11.

Also, his physical health and the injuries he sustained in the accident.

She said: “I ask you to consider his age, with his most formative years spent during the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, the situation of the prisons.”

Miss Friedman went on to ask Judge Francis to consider that “on the evening of the incident, he had argued with his girlfriend and went for a drive to ‘blow off some steam’.”

Lloyd receives £450 per month in a personal independence payment (PIP) due to his diagnosis of neurodiversity.

The defendant was ordered to pay the victims £500 in compensation and has to complete a 35-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

He was also made the subject of curfew for three months between 7pm-7am. 

The defendant, of Bryn Milwr, Hollybush was disqualified from driving for three years.