by Paul Hooper

Michael Rook claimed he was being a Good Samaritan when he smashed into three vehicles and veered across the road.

The 41-year-old Faversham man said a pal was suffering a diabetic attack and needed medical treatment.

But Rook, of Edward Vinson Drive, was spotted by a cabbie driving past the William Harvey Hospital on his bizarre bumper car ride.

He later said he was heading for the Kent and Canterbury Hospital where his friend Sam Bellfield was seeking help for hyperglycaemia.

But it didn’t stop Rook – who admitted driving dangerously and failing to stop after an accident – from receiving a suspended jail sentence and a three year driving ban.

Judge Simon James told him: “You have sought to justify your erratic driving due to the fact that your passenger was ill. It is rather difficult to see how his illness caused you to continue to veer over the carriageway!

“And if you were so concerned about him why did you choose to drive past a local hospital which has an emergency unit?”

Prosecutor Donna East told Canterbury Crown Court that the incident began in the South Willesborough area of Ashford at 11.45am in January as Dumitru Leonte was collecting his son from nursery.

Rook drove his van into the back of Mr Leonte’s parked car and then reversed and smashed into it again before driving away without stopping.

The William Harvey Hospital, which Rook was said to have driven past with his sick pal

Minutes later his van was seen by taxi driver Andrew Baynes ,who had picked up a passenger at the William Harvey Hospital and was heading towards Little Burton Farm in Ashford.

“Mr Baynes was less than 200 yards from the Bachelors Factory when he saw a white van ahead of him. It was travelling at 15mph which he thought was odd. There were no vehicles in front of the van.

“He then saw it veer over to the left three or four times along the A28 before speeding rapidly to around 50mph just before a humpback bridge – which he narrowly missed hitting.

“The taxi driver, who thought the van driver was drunk, was so concerned that he stopped and called 999 and alerted police, “ she added.

Rook continued and then ploughed into the back of a tractor driven by Stuart May, who was involved in hedge trimming.

The prosecutor said that a VW Polo car coming in the opposite direction was then struck by Rook’s van.

"it is difficult for me to detect if you have any true remorse for the pain and loss that you caused to others" – judge simon james

Driver Tracey Reeves had whiplash injuries which required treatment from a physiotherapist.

Rook, who was later arrested, tried to claim that others were to blame for the series of crashes.

Since the incident Rook has been banned from driving after admitting failing to provide a breath sample for analysis in a separate incident.

Judith King, defending, claimed Rook panicked when his friend became ill and drove erratically because of the stress he was under.

“He just wasn’t thinking clearly and that’s why he didn’t go to the William Harvey Hospital.”

But the judge told him: “It is difficult for me to detect if you have any true remorse for the pain and loss that you caused to others.

“Remarkably, despite pleading guilty, you seem unable to accept that overtaking and colliding with a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction could amount to driving dangerously! Well I can tell you that it clearly does!

“Instead of showing concern and remorse for the consequences of your reckless driving you were immediately aggressive and I have no doubt that you would have driven away from the scene without a second’s concern for the welfare for the other driver had it not been for the impact to your vehicle prevented you from taking such a course.”

Rook was banned for three years, given a 32-week jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to do 160 hours of unpaid work.