A YOUNG motorist who caused a horrific early hours crash hurting some of his passengers including a young child has been found guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

A jury heard a car driven by Oliver Thomas Henry Walker containing five others including two children overtook another car on Yellowham Hill near Dorchester and missed the junction at Cuckoo Lane next to the Puddletown bypass, went across a road and careered into a ditch.

Walker, 23, formerly of Dorchester and now of South Street, Wareham, was convicted following a four-day retrial at Dorchester Crown Court.

The prosecution said Walker had been 'showing off' when the crash occurred.

Walker was charged with three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He had previously pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of careless driving, which was withdrawn following the verdicts.

The three counts, which Walker denied, related to an incident when he crashed his car on November 10, 2013.

The court was told that in the early hours of the morning Walker was driving his father’s Peugeot, which contained three other adults and two infant passengers.

This included Adam Kerslake, Gemma Kerslake and her 15-month-old daughter, and Kerri Downes and her one-year-old.

Prior to the crash, Walker had been following another vehicle driven by Joe Cox, a friend of the passengers.

Jurors heard Walker then overtook Mr Cox before he missed a junction, went across the road and crashed.

As a result of this, Miss Kerslake suffered a fractured cheekbone and jawbone, and Miss Downes and her daughter suffered a fractured leg.

The case initially came to court in January this year but jurors were unable to reach a verdict and a decision was made to hear the case again.

This week a new jury heard from witnesses at the scene of the incident and received a report examining the condition of the road.

Summing up, Judge Brian Forster QC reminded jurors of the evidence before them.

He said the prosecution had alleged the defendant had overtaken Mr Cox’s vehicle when not necessary, had been showing off at the time and hadn't seen the junction because his driving was 'far below the standard to be expected'.

The judge said the defence had argued the condition of the road meant Walker had no awareness of the forthcoming junction and had described the road as unfit for purpose.

The defence also argued there were inconsistencies in evidence provided by witnesses as to how fast Walker was driving.

Judge Forster said jurors had to decide whether Walker’s driving fell ‘far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver’.

The jury reached a unanimous guilty verdict after two hours and 11 minutes.

Walker’s sentencing has been adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be drawn up. He remains on bail and has been disqualified from driving.