Man who torched car after hitting boy, 15, jailed

A speeding driver who hit a 15-year-old boy and then tried to cover his tracks by torching his car has been sent to prison.

Christopher Marshall-MacIntosh, 33, of Marshall’s Close, Teversham, was jailed for one year and 11 months at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday.

Cambridgeshire Police and paramedics were called to Back Lane, Cambourne, after receiving reports of the crash at about 21:00 GMT on 5 March.

The teenager, who was riding a push-scooter, was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital with life-threatening injuries while Marshall-MacIntosh fled from the scene.

The judge told him: "You knew or you strongly believed you had hit a person but you did not stop. Instead, you drove off."

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the car fire at 22:20 GMT just off Highfields Road, Caldecote.

Marshall-MacIntosh, who pleaded guilty to failing to stop after a collision, had torched his car to cover his tracks, said the judge.

He added that the teenager had avoided death thanks to the help of the paramedics who arrived at the scene.

Marshall-MacIntosh has also been disqualified from driving for five years and four months.

The court heard that Marshall-MacIntosh was driving at 37mph on a 20mph road that was described as busy and narrow.

"This ghastly incident could have been avoided," the judge said.

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