The hit and run driver who crashed into an estate agent, leaving him critically injured, has been jailed for three years and four months.

Shaun Whiter, 27, had gone to help a friend change a car tyre when Jan Adamec ploughed into the pair.

Both men were wearing hi-viz jackets, using torches, and the hazard lights were on.

Adamec was speeding with no headlights on.

Cambridge Crown Court heard how Adamec reversed and drove away after the crash in Newmarket, Suffolk, effectively leaving both men for dead.

Whiter, a branch manager, had to have both legs amputated and his friend Joey Abbs suffered serious leg injuries.

Adamec, a chef, was charged over a week later following a police appeal.

He initially denied all charges before pleading guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Sentencing him, Judge Jonathan Haworth told Adamec his actions had been “callous in the extreme” and “despicable”.

He told him: “You reversed and you drove around the injured men lying on the ground. You did absolutely nothing to assist.”

He said Adamec had ignored a police appeal for information and and had tried to escape when police officers went to his home.

The judge said: “When you say you are suffering yourself, quite frankly I say that pales into insignificance compared to what they are suffering.

“You were driving at excessive speed, and overtaking in a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road, disregarding the safety of others.

“The injuries are as serious as they could have been; you failed to stop, failed to phone the emergency services, attempted to cover up the offence and to avoid arrest.”

Whiter was not in court because, prosecutor Martin Mulgrew said, he did not want to see the defendant.

In a victim impact statement, he said he suffered from flashbacks and nightmares.

PC James Thorne, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit, said: “Adamec showed a complete disregard for other road users and acted in a cowardly manner when he decided to leave Shaun and Joey by the roadside who were in need of urgent medical care.

“This sentence should serve as a deterrent to those persons who treat the roads like a playground. I would like to remind everyone that if you are involved in a collision where injury is caused, you must stop at the scene and report the collision to police.”

Adamec was given a five-year sentence which was reduced because of his guilty plea by a third to 40 months, and he will be banned from driving for five years, with the ban starting from his release from jail.

Whiter, a keen all-round sportsman, is branch manager at David Lee in Stansted, Essex. He has worked for the firm for 11 years.

The Cambridge News carries a fuller report, with some comments showing outrage at the length of the sentence. However, one apparently knowledgeable poster said that the judge had imposed the maximum allowed under the guidelines.

There is also a very moving interview here where Whiter talks about how he plans to walk down the aisle next year at his wedding.

PC Ashley Bennett said the Whiter family were disappointed by the sentence.

He said: “Three years, four months, whilst it seems like a long sentence, with good behaviour that’s reduced, and I think considering the severity of the injuries, it could almost have been a fatal collision … they’re disappointed.”

He said Whiter was distraught and unable to attend court to see Adamec sentenced.