A SOLIHULL driver has been jailed for nearly seven years for deliberately mowing down a man in a hit-and-run in Coventry city centre.
Jack Dillon drove at the victim, who was in his 30s, on Queen Victoria Road at around 5.40am on May 6 following a confrontation between them.
The victim was rushed to hospital and put in an induced coma, spending many weeks in hospital and he continues to recover now.
Police secured CCTV footage which showed the deliberate act and Dillon making straight off afterwards, forcing a taxi to go onto the other side of the road to avoid another collision.
The 18-year-old was arrested within hours of the hit-and-run.
His BMW was found with damage indicating it was in a collision.
Dillon, of Grovefield Crescent, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent and failing to stop and was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison at Warwick Crown Court on September 1.
PC Callum Jones, from Coventry CID, said: “Dillon deliberately drove at the victim and then left him in the road with very serious injuries, which thankfully he survived.
“It appears there had been a dispute between two groups of men – involving Dillon and the victim – nearby shortly beforehand.
“The man is then seen to approach the BMW while carrying a metal road sign before he was struck by the vehicle and left with injuries which were initially feared to be life-threatening.
“There is no justification for deliberately driving at someone, and then just fleeing the scene, and Dillon has now quite rightly lost his freedom for some time.”
