A van driver left a 16-year-old boy for dead after ploughing into the bus stop at which the child was waiting.

Oxford Crown Court heard that police officers found the boy ‘covered in blood’ and lying on the grass verge on Middleton Stoney Road, Bicester, on March 19 surrounded by debris from the bus stop.

The police were called to another crash further down the road, where a vehicle appeared to have struck a traffic island.

A trail of diesel led officers to Bruno Viveiros heavily-damaged Vauxhall Vivaro van. They found a letter inside addressed to the 40-year-old and realised he lived only a few doors down from where the van was parked up. 

 

Through the window they could see Viveiros slumped on a sofa. He was so drunk that the officers had to pinch his earlobe before they could get him to wake up.

Taken to the police station, the dad-of-four blew 122mcgs of alcohol in 100ml of breath – more than three times the legal drink-driving limit.

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He was told during his interview at the police station about the ‘life-changing’ injuries his victim had suffered, including a broken skull and a number of broken bones in his face.

Prosecutor Michael Speak said Viveiros told the officers: “I just want to ask sorry to this kid [sic]. I’m really sorry for hurting him. What have I done? Jesus, worst thing is I don’t remember.”

In a victim impact statement summarised to the court, the 16-year-old boy said he had been waiting at the bus stop after finishing a shift at the pizza restaurant where he worked.

He had no memory of the crash; only of waking up to find the police officers beside him. A keen rugby player, he feared he would never be able to play his chosen sport again.

Viveiros, of The Green, Chesterton, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drink driving. He had no previous convictions.

Judge Ian Pringle KC jailed him for three years and banned him from the roads for four years. 

He told the defendant: “Let me be blunt. It is difficult to imagine much worse driving than you did that evening.

“You went for a pint and had a shot after work. It seems you then went to your brother’s house and it’s quite clear you must have drunk a considerable amount of whisky while you were with him, such that you should never have got into any car that evening.”

Lyall Thompson, mitigating, said his client had asked him to address the victim’s family and explain ‘how sorry he is for this totally out of character’ offending. He was a family man with a wife and four children.

Viveiros must pass an extended retest before he can drive again. 

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward