A young man who maimed his brother in a horrific crash after speeding “like a missile” through a midlands village has been jailed for two years.Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court heard Gerard Duffy McAndrew (24) had been using cannabis and filmed himself drinking wine and driving shortly before the high-velocity crash in Rathowen, Westmeath, during the early hours of March 23rd last year. Across his video clip were the words: “Beer, steer and go.” He was four times the legal drink-drive limit.Just 18 months beforehand, he had been united with his brother Stephen Murphy (29), who had been adopted.An apprentice blocklayer and stonemason, Duffy McAndrew, of Rathcorbally, Monilea, Westmeath, pleaded guilty in April to dangerous driving causing serious injury and having no insurance for the car he was using at the time.Murphy, who was flung from his brother’s Audi, suffered “catastrophic injuries” and lost his left leg.Sentencing on Wednesday, Judge Keenan Johnson stressed that everyone involved was a decent person and it was out of character for Duffy McAndrew, who had no previous criminal convictions.The judge noted the “cooling” in the brothers’ relationship since then but expressed hope that, over time, they could rebuild their lives to their full potential.Earlier, defence counsel Colm Smyth likened the events to a Shakespearean tragedy. At the same time, the judge described it as an instance “of bad things happening to good people” and a “tragedy of gigantic proportions for all involved”.However, having viewed CCTV footage, he also said it was a miracle no one was killed, and it was one of the worst examples of dangerous driving he had seen.Referring to the video evidence, he said: “Looking at that car, it was like a missile.”Garda Sgt Alan Brehon told barrister Cathal Ó Braonáin, instructed by the State solicitor for Westmeath, Matt Shaw, that the accused crashed at high speed into two trees and a kerb in the village at about 2.30am, and lost control of his car.It continued for another 135m before disintegrating and coming to a halt.Murphy, who was asleep in the passenger side, was flung through the windscreen after his seat belt snapped. Based on video evidence, gardaí estimated the accused was reaching speeds of 163km/h a few minutes beforehand in nearby Ballinalack, where the speed limit is 50km/h. Another motorist reported that, as he was driving on the N4 at 100km/h, Duffy McAndrew’s car passed him on the hard shoulder.Minutes later, when he crashed in Rathowen, his speedometer “froze” at 195km/h. It was also a 50km/h zone.Duffy McAndrew’s phone was analysed, and a video clip shortly before the crash was played during the hearing.It showed his brother asleep in the car while he was driving with no hands. The camera also switches to selfie mode, showing him drinking from a bottle of wine.Finalising the case, the judge said the nature of the offence attracted a nine-year sentence, but noting genuine remorse, previous good character and mitigation, he reduced it to five years. The judge suspended the final three years on condition that Duffy McAndrew does not reoffend or use drink or drugs for seven years, and he was banned from driving for four years.