GO-karting fan Geoffrey Fairburn was driving a colleague's company car when he lost control on the A346 near Ogbourne St Andrew, a court heard.

The 29-year-old was driving a powerful R-reg BMW 535 which was full of gadgets including a television when Amal Patel was killed in the smash in August last year. Fairburn, of Gooch Street, Swindon, denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Swindon Crown Court heard Fairburn had been travelling to Andover with 19-year-old Amal (pictured) and another friend, Tom Marshall, when he lost control of the car and collided with a Volkswagen Polo coming in the opposite direction.

The jury heard that Fairburn, a management accountant for computer company RBR networks, was lucky to survive the crash and suffered a catalogue of injuries from the impact.

As well as being in a coma at Princess Margaret Hospital for a period, he had his spleen removed, damaged his diaphragm, broke several ribs and punctured a lung, fractured his pelvis, ruptured his aorta and underwent a heart bypass.

He said he also suffered a bang on the head but did not need to have treatment to his brain during a three-week stay in hospital.

When he was interviewed by police he said that a doctor in a following car had tended to him, saying: "I would like to say thank you to him because he basically did the most to save my life."

The jury heard that Fairburn would have been travelling between 54mph and 75mph when the car careered broadside across the road, colliding with the Polo.

He told police that his hobby was driving and racing go karts which had 260cc Honda engines and could reach speeds of 80mph.

The jury heard that he had been lent the car while a colleague was out of the country, but he told police that driving the BMW held little thrill as he had previously been loaned his boss's Ferrari and Lambourghini.

He said he was careful behind the wheel because he risked losing his race licence if he was banned from the road.

Simon Morgan, defending, also read out a character reference from Rory Sweet, managing director of Zycko and E Cable.com, saying he had appointed Fairburn financial director when he set up the firm and found him conscientious and hard working.

The case continues.