Idiot dad Neal Smith raced at 100mph with baby in the car

Nov 21 2009 by Rob Kennedy, The Journal

A MANIAC driver raced a fellow road menace at 100mph with his baby in the back seat, a court heard yesterday.

Neal Smith went head to head with Christopher Whitaker for two miles with a total disregard for the safety of his young child.

Smith, who wasn’t even wearing a seatbelt, was flung from his Mitsubishi Evo when the race ended with him crashing into a central reservation.

Now the pair have been given suspended jail terms by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court.

Judge John Evans told them: “What was blindingly obvious to those who saw you racing your high performance cars was that it was bound to result in an accident.

“You were driving in this dangerous manner when you, Smith, were with your partner and your young son, endangering not only your own life but theirs as well.

“You, Smith, went through the rear window of the car, narrowly passing your young son in the process.

“How you and your family escaped being killed that night is difficult to comprehend. You were neglecting your parental responsibility to put it mildly.”

Smith, 25, of Valley Garth in Esh Winning, and Whitaker, 24, of Plantaganet Way, Chester-le-Street, both denied dangerous driving during a trial at Durham Crown Court and claimed they were not racing.