A MAN who collided with another driver at high speed has been labelled "arrogant and stupid" by a judge after he left his injured victim in the crumpled remains of her car and drove to his mother's house.

Appearing at North East Wales Magistrates Court, former marine engineer Kristian Luke Roberts, 29, pleaded guilty to a dangerous driving charge following the incident which took place on July 14, 2018, on the A55 close to Holywell.

The Mold court heard Roberts, of Rhyl Road, Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, was driving his white BMW on the A55 at about 9am when he attempted to undertake a vehicle being driven by Helen Jackson.

A witness driving behind Ms Jackson's Honda Jazz said Roberts had driven at 90 mph past him before driving close to the rear of the victim's vehicle.

She had moved over to the left hand lane to let him go by but he had tried to undertake and hit her car, causing it to roll several times and end up on its roof.

The witness said he was "preparing mentally to deal with a fatality" when he stopped his car and rushed to Ms Jackson's assistance only to find she had no serious injuries apart from heavy bruising and fractured ribs.

The court heard that following the collision Roberts had failed to stop and instead drove to his mother's house and it was she who contacted the police.

Showing the court images of the damage to Ms Jackson's car following the crash, Justin Espie, prosecuting, said: "It is something of a miracle she is still with us."

In her victim statement Ms Jackson told the court how she had "tumbled several times" before the car hit a tree and ended up on its roof.

She said she had "feared for her life" when smoke began to fill the vehicle and said that any children sitting in the back of the car would have been killed.

"The fact he chose to save his own skin rather than saving a person's life is cowardly and beggars belief," she said.

"I am very lucky to be alive and he had a moral obligation to stop and should face the full consequences for his actions."

She added the incident had caused her to take seven weeks off work and had caused "a huge impact on her wellbeing and personal life" meaning she now had to take medication and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Hywel Roberts, defending, said Roberts was "the author of his own misfortune" and had shown "genuine remorse" following the incident.

Probation officer Andrew Connah said Roberts had told him he left the scene of the crash "out of panic" and was "extremely remorseful".

Deputy District Judge John Maxwell said: "This was an extremely arrogant and dangerous act of driving that has been disastrous for the victim and like a coward you left the scene when someone might have needed your help to live."

Roberts was handed 26 weeks in custody, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

He will also be disqualified from driving for four years, be the subject of a 10 week curfew between 6pm and 6am and must pay Ms Jackson £250 in compensation.