Kristian Churchill jailed for using car as 'weapon' to hit women
A drunk driver who used his car as a "devastating weapon" to knock down two women in Merthyr Tydfil has been jailed for 10 years.
The pair suffered serious injuries after charity worker Kristian Churchill, 37, drove into them.
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard he had targeted them after a row with one of their friends at a party in April.
Churchill admitted two counts of grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol.
The court heard that the two women were left "screaming in agony" after being thrown into a garden by the force of the impact with Churchill's Renault Megane.
Nikita Price, 22, suffered two broken ankles and required a skin graft on her left leg.
Lucy Gregory, 20, suffered a fractured spine and two leg fractures, while the court was told she still walks with crutches more than two months after the collision.
The court heard Churchill, of Merthyr Tydfil, targeted them after a row with one of their friends at a house gathering.
Prosecutor Matthew Roberts said the women were walking down the street afterwards when Churchill stopped his car and wound down the window to swear at them.
"The next thing she (Ms Price) remembers was him revving his engine and she found herself blacked out and on her back in the garden," he said.
Churchill was more than twice the legal drink-drive limit.
The court heard he had also been found guilty of a separate charge of child abduction.
Andrew Davies defending said: "He has acknowledged the enormity of the offences and is devastated by the effect it has had on his victims."
Jailing Churchill for 10 years and four months, Judge Michael Burr told him: "You used your car as a weapon with devastating consequences which the women will have to live with for years.
"Cars can be used as deadly weapons and this is what happened that night, it was used in a devastating way."
Churchill was also banned from driving for nine years.