Home / Crime and Justice / Car Rammed Pub: Driver Avoids Jail
Car Rammed Pub: Driver Avoids Jail
6 Nov
Summary
- Eighteen-year-old driver rammed a car into a pub entrance.
- The driver was acting in a rage and screaming at the time.
- The driver received a community sentence for dangerous driving.
A 19-year-old man, Frank Finn, has been sentenced to a three-year community order for dangerous driving after he deliberately drove his car into The Dolphin pub in Broadstairs, Kent, on April 4th.
Finn had been ejected from the pub earlier in the evening following a brawl. He returned shortly after, revving his car engine and making gang signs before driving at speed directly into the pub's entrance, narrowly missing a doorman. Terrified customers were seen fleeing the establishment as the vehicle impacted.
During the incident, a fruit machine was propelled forward, injuring one patron, and a brick struck another, causing cuts and bruises. Finn, who suffers from complex PTSD and other psychiatric conditions, later surrendered to the police.
At Canterbury Crown Court, Finn pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and criminal damage. His defense cited his mental health crisis, including complex PTSD, severe depressive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD, as contributing factors. Judge Taylor took into account his age, mental health struggles, and time spent on courses during custody, ultimately deeming an immediate prison sentence inappropriate.
Finn was disqualified from driving for 12 months as part of his sentence. He was also ordered to complete a three-year community sentence.
