Hit-and-run killer driver sued by survivor left in coma for months

I want ‘worthless’ hit-and-run motorist to feel the pain he’s caused, says crash victim
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Josh Loeb19 October 2012

A student whose skull was shattered by a hit-and-run driver who also killed two of his best friends today launched a £300,000 damages claim against him.

Surgeons had to rebuild 23-year-old Jack Martindale’s face after the accident on New Year’s Day in 2010. He was in a coma for several months, needed intense rehabilitation therapy and still suffers a mild speech disorder.

He and his two friends were hit when Shamail Ali Syed’s Honda careered onto the pavement in Palmers Green during a race with a friend.

Carrie Maclaren, 20, died at the scene of what police described as one of the worst accidents they had seen. Chelsea Cannon, 19, died after spending three months in a coma.

Syed, 26, from Ilford, fled and was later jailed for seven years. Mr Martindale, a student at York University, today told the Standard he was launching the action because he wanted Syed to understand the pain and devastation he had caused.

He said: “If he knew one iota of the damage and destruction he had caused, that would do for me, but I don’t think he does.

"I don’t think he has comprehended it at all. I’m beyond really feeling anything for him. I don’t think he’s human enough to feel real aggression towards. He’s just worthless.”

Mr Martindale, from Barnet, paid tribute to his two friends who did not survive.

He said: “I found them inspirational. They were amazing people and I have only ever really had admiration for them. I think they were incredibly resilient people and it’s quite dumbfounding what has happened.

“In some ways it would be easier if you could blame it on something that we did, but it was nothing we did. It was just not our fault at all.” He added that there was “no way to quantify in terms of money and compensation” how he had been affected.

He said: “For now I’m just focusing on finishing my degree. But it’s definitely good to be back.”

Surgeon Simon Holmes was given the job of re-attaching the 30 pieces of Mr Martindale’s shattered skull during two painstaking procedures, likened to putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

Specialists assembled aluminium plates in a “star” shape which were then attached to Mr Martindale’s face to return the bones to their normal position.

Syed was convicted of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving, and one of causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving.

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