A MERCEDES driver ignored his passenger’s pleas to slow down moments before ploughing into two cars and injuring 12 people on the M3.

Ashley Paul had been driving at speeds of up to 100mph after consuming nitrous oxide.

Travelling northbound between junction 8 and 9, the now 37-year-old crashed into the back of two cars at Winchester, a court was told.

Prosecuting, Lucy Taylor said Paul had been driving at 100mph and had been seen swerving across two lanes before losing control of his vehicle.

The passenger in his car recalled “fearing for his life,” Ms Taylor added.

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The two vehicles Paul hit were spun around to face the wrong way on the carriageway, whilst his own Mercedes ended up upside down.

A total of 12 people were treated at the scene with the drivers of the other cars describing feeling pain in their neck and back, as well as bruising.

The court heard children had been travelling in the cars that Paul struck.

Recorder, Daniel Sawyer, told Paul he was “extremely lucky that [he] didn’t kill 11 other people”, with those involved only suffering minor injuries.

Paul, of Yorkshire Road, Merton, London previously entered a guilty plea to dangerous driving on the grounds that he was not under the influence of nitrous oxide at the time.

But at a Newton hearing in May, it was ruled otherwise.

It was also ruled that on the day of the crash, August 16, 2022, Paul had been travelling at 100mph, despite some witnesses alleging speeds of 140mph.

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Mitigating, Ise Thompson said her client was “remorseful about his behaviour”, adding that he “feels extremely bad for what happened that day”.

“It’s clear the driving was excessive, and the speeds were problematic.”

She added that Paul, who works as a steward, is of good character and is “somewhat of a safe driver”.

But Recorder Sawyer said: “You don’t go from being a perfectly safe driver to driving like this.”

He jailed Paul for 18 months and disqualified him from driving for three years extended for nine months to take into consideration the time he will spend in custody.

Paul will also need to take an extended re-test if he applies to get his licence back.

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Recorder Sawyer added: “You decided to risk the lives of your passengers and other road users around you.

“If you had caused death, you would be facing a much more serious charge. It’s sheer dumb luck that you are not facing any of those.

“Your passengers were pleading with you to slow down and you just ignored that.

“You made a deliberate decision to ignore the laws of the road.

“(You showed a) sheer disregard for the lives of others.”