A MAN responsible for a crash on the A66 which left a grandfather seriously hurt has been convicted of causing his injuries by dangerous driving.

Leslie Whyte's lorry was seen "swerving and swaying" erratically near Appleby moments before his HGV ploughed into a van being driven by Jeffrey Bainbridge on May 21 last year. Mr. Bainbridge, a self-employed builder and retained firefighter was thrown clear of his van as it was "crushed" by the wagon, and came to rest in a hedge.

He was airlifted to hospital in Newcastle, detained for nine days and remains unable to work following the incident close to a cafe he was helping his family to renovate,

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Whyte, 36, of Holmpark Crescent, Newton Stewart, was arrested by police following the crash. He was charged with causing Mr. Bainbridge serious injury by dangerous driving, but denied the allegation.

However, a jury unanimously found Whyte guilty of the offence following a two-day trial at Carlisle Crown Court. His case was adjourned for the preparation of background reports, and he will be sentenced on April 10.

Jurors heard that 60-year-old Mr Bainbridge was indicating to leave the A66 at Coupland Beck when the crash occurred at around 8.15am.

He suffered two fractured vertebrae in his neck, two in his lower back and eight or nine broken ribs. He also sustained a punctured and collapsed lung, and a fractured shoulder blade.

Records from Whyte's HGV showed he had been travelling at 54mph prior to the crash - four miles per hour above the speed limit for his vehicle.

"The lorry went straight into the back of the van, crushing it and sending it flying off the road," David Birrell, prosecuting, told the court.

Mr Bainbridge noticed the truck behind his van. "The next thing I remember was waking up in the back of the hedge," he said in evidence.

One eyewitness saw Whyte's HGV "swerving and swaying" just before the collision, and at one point it strayed on to the opposite side of the carriageway.

But in court Whyte denied that his driving had been erratic. His laden trailer might have moved slightly across the road, he accepted, but that was because of "grooves" in the carriageway left by other goods vehicles.

Whyte admitted he was a methadone user having been dependent on heroin "years and years ago".

He was said to have told a police officer shortly after the crash that he had taken his methadone the night before. But he refuted that claim in court, claiming his last dose had in fact been four days previously.

He admitted not informing his employer or the DVLA about his methadone use, despite being required to do so.

Of the crash, he remembered checking his mirrors for overtaking vehicles before suddenly becoming aware of Mr. Bainbridge's van. "I tried to avoid it but didn't get the whole lorry across in time and just clipped the van," said Whyte, who escaped with minor injuries.