A CELEBRITY chauffeur has been convicted of leaving a woman paralysed from the neck down after a horrorific car crash.

Paul Prior was seen by witnesses travelling between at 100 and 120 mph when he smashed into the back of a Peugeot being driven by a 26-year-old woman.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard how the crash was “catastrophic” for Cate Stephens.

“She had been a fit young person of 26,” Rex Bryan, prosecuting, told the court.

“As a result of the collision, she became a tetraplegic, unable to feel anything from the neck down, unable to move anything and unable to work again.”

Prior, 39, had admitted a charge of dangerous driving but denied another charge of causing Miss Stephens grievous bodily harm.

A jury of seven women and five men convicted him on a unanimous verdict.

He showed no emotion as the verdict was announced.

Prior, of Hillway, Westcliff, was bailed while pre-sentence reports are prepared and given an interim driving ban.

After the case, Miss Stephens said Prior’s driving had left her reliant on other people for the rest of her life.

“It is difficult to describe my feelings towards that man,” Miss Stephens said.

“Paul Prior’s driving was undisputedly arrogant and selfish.

“I don’t think justice will ever be done as I have to live with his actions for the rest of my life.

“He will only suffer for a small fraction of his life.”

The trial heard how drivers using the road from Southend on the A130 then on to the A120 described Prior’s black 4.2 litre Audi A8 as tailgating at great speeds, undertaking and overtaking as well as clipping the kerb, sending smoke from the car.

One van driver told police Prior passed him at about 120mph and “it was like watching touring cars racing”.

The driver also saw the blue Peugeot flip into the air.

Mr Bryan said: “Her vehicle received a massive impact from the rear offside and so great was the collision, that her vehicle was propelled into the air cartwheeling end over end two or three times over some fencing and into a field.

“The result for her was catastrophic.”

The trial heard Miss Stephens, of Oadby near Leicester, had started a physiotherapist job at the Colchester Garrison shortly before the accident.

She was left hanging upside down by her seatbelt in the crash, the court heard.

Prior, a driver for celebrities, including Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, told the jury he had been distracted as he looked for a business card only moments before the smash on the A120 near Takeley on September 12, 2006.

He said he “kind of switched off” and was not thinking about his speed or taking much notice of other cars on the road.

Prior also told the jury how he finds it difficult to talk about the accident and it had affected his health.

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