Benjamin Sasse, a civil engineer, lost control of his car as he approached a bend on Route de Maufant in St Martin after attending a 30th birthday party.
The accident left one of his three passengers – an aspiring actor – with three fractures to his spinal column.
He has since had to have a metal frame drilled into his skull.
And while the victim lay bleeding by the side of the road, 29-year-old Sasse fled the scene and later denied being involved in the accident – something that led to his passengers being investigated by the police.
Sasse, from London, later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and leaving the scene of an accident and was yesterday jailed for nine months and banned from driving for three years by a judge in the Magistrate’s Court.
Outlining the case, Advocate Chris Baglin, prosecuting, told the court that at about 5 am on 19 July the defendant offered to drive three of the partygoers home as they were all waiting for a taxi.
As he pulled out onto Route de Maufant, Sasse began to drive erratically, with one of the passengers claiming that he took his hands off the steering wheel, Advocate Baglin said.
When he reached a right-hand bend travelling towards Five Oaks, he crashed head-on into a tree.
Although all three of the passengers managed to escape and Sasse initially went to look for help, he fled the scene a short time later.
When police attended Sasse’s address the next morning, he lied to officers and claimed that someone must have stolen the car.
Advocate Baglin told the court that it was only on the second police interview, when Sasse had learned about the man’s condition, that he admitted to driving the vehicle and taking half a tablet of ecstasy, drinking several glasses of champagne as well as beer and shots.
The advocate added that the actor would have ‘ongoing consequences for some time to come’ and that by leaving the scene of the accident.
The court heard that as Sasse fled the scene the police were unable to take a breath test.
Advocate David Steenson, defending, said that once his client had learned of the severity of the injury, he was ‘extremely candid’ and that he was ‘truly sorry’ for what happened.
The Advocate added that Sasse had initially acted in a panic and that he had not driven at any reckless speed.
Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris said that Sasse’s decision to drive had led to a ‘very serious injury’ and that the offence was aggravated by both his drinking and drug taking and the lies that he initially told the police.
‘Clearly you were traumatised by the incident but in all circumstances I am unable to find a non-custodial sentence,’ he added.
