A man has been handed a suspended sentence after he was “willing to take needless risks” and narrowly avoided a head-on crash while overtaking. 

Gino Lisi, of Knolles Drive in Stanford-in-the-Vale, appeared at Reading Crown Court on Friday June 24 for dangerous driving.

On 1 August 2019, at around 11.25am, Lisi narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with another vehicle which was travelling in the opposite direction.

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The crash nearly happened while Lisi was overtaking three vehicles above the speed 50 mph limit on Faringdon Road.

A jury unanimously found Lisi guilty of one count of dangerous driving following the two-day trial.

The 26-year-old driver was handed 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Lisi was also told to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, made pay £2,800 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

He must take an extended retest in order to get his licence back.

PC David Burleigh, of the Joint Operations Unit Roads Policing team, based at Abingdon police station, said: “This conviction demonstrates the seriousness of Lisi’s driving, which fell far below that of a competent driver.

“It was clear to see the defendant was willing to take needless risks and in doing so put other road users at risk of serious harm by carrying out a dangerous manoeuvre.

“The sentence issued by the court is a reflection of this.

“Hopefully this young driver learns their lesson and takes much more care in the future.”

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This story was written by Sophie Perry. She joined the team in 2021 as a digital reporter.

You can get in touch with her by emailing: sophie.perry@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @itssophieperry

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