A banned driver has been jailed after using his car for work and sparking a 100 mph police chase.
Despite his ban Craig William Jones, 32, had been driving to work for a month at the Kellogg’s factory in Wrexham.
At Mold Crown Court on Friday he was jailed for nine months, banned from driving for two years ordered him to take an extended driving test.
The court heard when officers spotted him leaving the site they turned on their blue lights and Jones accelerated away from them.
During the chase Jones, of Prince’s Close, Wrexham, who had a previous conviction for dangerous driving, hit speeds of almost 90 mph while officers travelled at 100 mph to catch him as he disappeared into the distance.
At one stage he nearly had a head-on collision with an on-coming articulated lorry and went through temporary traffic lights that were on red.
Judge Rhys Rowlands, who described his driving as “extraordinarily dangerous”, also banned him for two years from driving and ordered him to take an extended driving test.
“You were a very serious accident waiting to happen,” he said.
The judge – who watched a film of the chase taken from the police car - said that Jones was banned in December 2012 and had failed to take an extended re-test.
The latest incident happened on the afternoon of August 25.
“What happened afterwards is graphically showed in CCTV footage, “ the judge said.
“The police car reached 100 mph and you were still disappearing into the distance.”
Judge Rowlands said in view of his speed and risk taking, serious injuries could have been caused to himself and to other road users if there had been a collision.
He said that there was absolutely no excuse for a man earning £30,000 a year not to take a taxi or other form of transport to work.
Prosecutor Emmalyne Downing played the CCTV footage from the pursing police car.
It started in Bryn Lane and when police illuminated their blue lights after a roundabout he drove off at speed, reaching 87 mph in a 40 mph area.
He continued “at exceptional speed” passed the Red Wither public house and went straight through red traffic lights.
Police lost sight of him.
The court heard that during police interview Jones said he was returning home from work and when he saw the police behind made a conscious decision to try and get away.
He admitted that he had driven the MG ZR car to work each day for the past month.
Alun Williams, defending, said that it was not a residential area but it was conceded that it was a busy area at a busy time of day.
He said Kellogg’s would keep his job open for him if the custodial sentence was not too long.
see-http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/banned-wrexham-driver-jailed-sparking-11935456
No comments:
Post a Comment