Klaidas Keblas, 25, with no fixed address, has been sentenced to five years behind bars for a shocking drink-driving crash that left three people seriously injured.
On 6 March, shortly after midnight, Keblas crashed his grey Audi A3 head-on into a blue Vauxhall Zafira at the Northern Relief Road, Barking. The collision was so severe that both vehicles spun and ended up facing the wrong way.
Keblas fled the scene, leaving three victims badly hurt. Two male passengers, both aged 24, were crammed into the front passenger seat of the Audi—one sitting on the other’s lap—and both suffered serious injuries. The Vauxhall driver was critically injured.
The London Fire Brigade and Ambulance Service rushed the victims to East London hospitals for emergency treatment.
Police tracked Keblas through his mobile phone and discovered he had booked a flight to Lithuania on the day of the crash. He was arrested at Luton Airport just before boarding.
Keblas faced charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving (two counts), failing to stop, and failing to report the collision.
He was sentenced to 56 months for each serious injury count, plus four months each for failing to stop and report—totaling 60 months in prison, with no early release. He is also banned from driving for five years and must pass an extended driving test before returning to the wheel.
Her Honour Judge English criticised Keblas’s “drinking, speeding and dangerous overtaking” as aggravating factors, alongside his attempt to flee the country.
Detective Sergeant Edward Coleman said: “Keblas’s not guilty plea forced the victims to endure a trial on top of their suffering. Driving on the wrong side of the road, leaving them injured, was cowardly. Two victims are still recovering seven months on. Keblas will have plenty of time to reflect as he serves his sentence.”
Originally published by UKNIP.
