Solihull teenager jailed for deliberate hit-and-run which left man in a coma

A hit-and-run driver who deliberately mowed down a man in Coventry city centre has been jailed for almost seven years.

Jack Dillon drove at the victim in Queen Victoria Road at around 5.40am on 6 May this year following a confrontation between them. The victim, aged in his 30s, was rushed to hospital and put in an induced coma. He spent many weeks in hospital and continues to recover now.

Police secured CCTV footage which showed the deliberate act and Dillon making straight off afterwards, forcing a taxi to go onto the other side of the road to avoid another collision.

Officers traced and arrested the 18-year-old from Solihull within hours of the hit-and-run. His BMW was found with damage consistent with being in a collision.

Dillon, of Grovefield Crescent, pleaded guilty to grevious bodily harm with intent and failing to stop. He was sentenced to six years and nine months imprisonment at Warwick Crown Court last Friday (1 September).

West Midlands Police statement

PC Callum Jones, from Coventry CID, said: “Dillon deliberately drove at the victim and then left him in the road with very serious injuries, which thankfully he survived.

“It appears there had been a dispute between two groups of men - involving Dillon and the victim - nearby shortly beforehand.

“The man is then seen to approach the BMW while carrying a metal road sign before he was struck by the vehicle and left with injuries which were initially feared to be life-threatening. There is no justification for deliberately driving at someone, and then just fleeing the scene, and Dillon has now quite rightly lost his freedom for some time.”