The brother of a man on trial for seriously injuring a lifelong friend had initially claimed to be responsible for the crash, the Supreme Court heard. However officers involved in the investigation said that the man reversed his version of events almost immediately after being arrested, fingering the defendant as the culprit.

John Wardman, 29, has denied charges of causing grievous bodily harm to Alexander Doyle by driving while over the legal blood-alcohol limit, driving while impaired and failing to give Mr Doyle the necessaries of life in an incident in the early hours of December 27, 2010.

Prosecutors have alleged that Mr Wardman was driving home with his brother, Christopher Wardman, and Mr Doyle after a night’s drinking when he crashed the car into two walls in Paget.

While Mr Doyle was seriously injured in the collisions, suffering extensive bleeding and bruising in the brain, the Crown has told the court the defendant was focused more on getting the vehicle towed than seeking medical assistance for his friend.

As the trial continued yesterday, Police Constable Colin Mill testified that he and Police Constable David McHugh were sent to the scene of the collision in the early hours of December 27, discovering the damaged car hard against a wall on the eastern side of Manse Road.

Pc Mill told the court Christopher Wardman said he was the driver involved in the crash, telling the officers he lost control and skidded into the wall at the junction of Manse Road and Harbour Road. He then attempted to continue, but crashed the already damaged car into the second wall on Manse Road.

John Wardman meanwhile told the officers that Christopher had been the group’s designated driver.

The officer said that Pc McHugh took Christopher Wardman to the police car to give an official statement.

A short while later he went to the car and immediately noticed that the suspect smelled of intoxicants.

Pc Mill arrested Christopher Wardman on suspicion of driving while impaired but, after being cautioned, Wardman paused and asked: “What if I want to change my story?”

He subsequently told officers that John Wardman had been the one behind the wheel and he had only claimed responsibility to protect his brother. Pc Mill subsequently arrested the defendant on suspicion of impaired driving, telling the court: “My personal view was the scrape mark on the top of [John Wardman’s] head and the shards of glass on his right shoulder were consistent with having been sat in the drivers seat in the initial collision.”

The officer further told the court that he had ordered swabs to be taken from the inside of the vehicle to help better determine which of the brothers were behind the wheel, but those swabs were never tested based on the decision of those above him. He also noted Christopher Wardman pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court to attempting to pervert the course of justice by telling the officers he had been the driver and was fined $1,000 for the offence.

Defense lawyer Mark Daniels questioned Pc Mill about why he accepted Christopher Wardman’s claim that he had not been driving given that his original story meshed with evidence at the scene of the crash and the comments made by the defendant.

“You don’t know Christopher Wardman from Adam,” Mr Daniels said. “You have no basis to know whether he is a liar or whether he tells the truth, so when he tells police he was the driver you had no basis to believe him or disbelieve him.”

Pc Mill again noted the glass found on the defendant along with a scrape on his forehead, but acknowledged that he was not an expert in the distribution of glass.

And he said he could not say how the person in the passenger seat exited the vehicle with the passenger door hard against the wall.

While Mr Daniels suggested the passenger could have climbed out through the drivers door, potentially exposing themselves to broken glass, Pc Mill suggested the passenger could have also exited through the passenger side window. PC McHugh also took the stand, telling the court that while in the Hamilton Police Station he heard the defendant shout: “You don’t have to say s***, man! We will sort this s*** out later!”

And he said that hours later, while transferring the brothers and a third man to the Southside Police Station, he heard Christopher Wardman tell someone: “You’re right I’m p***ed off because I’m going to get in s*** for something I haven’t done!”

Mr Daniels suggested that Pc McHugh might have been mistaken, noting that while the officer claimed he recognised Christopher Wardman’s voice, he had only met him earlier that evening.

Pc McHugh reiterated that it was Christopher Wardman who made the comment, but he couldn’t say who it was directed to.