Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Joyrider’s ‘truck’ chase with police
A JOYRIDER led police on a “terrifying” high-speed chase through Dundee in a stolen two-tonne truck until he was rammed off the road and overpowered with incapacitant spray.
Unqualified and banned driver Alan Phillips, 22, raced around the city for more than 30 minutes and was driving so fast police had to stop pursuing him because it was too dangerous.
He drove on the wrong side of the road, careered the wrong way around several roundabouts, ran red lights, hit a car and narrowly missed a bus during the late-night rampage around 37 streets.
The episode was only ended when police forced the stolen Isuzu D-Max pick-up truck off the road and smashed the window before taking out Phillips with Pava spray.
Sheriff Richard MacFarlane jailed Phillips for two years at Dundee Sheriff Court and disqualified him from driving for four-and-a-half years.
He said: “You have never sat a test of competency to drive. At the age of 22 you have a very significant record for unlawful driving on our public roads.
“You embarked on unlawful driving in a substantial vehicle which wasn’t yours, you were disqualified, and then you go on a journey which can only be described as terrifying.
“The word dangerous which is associated with the driving charge is an understatement. You compromised the safety of your passenger and all other road users.
“You don’t seem to have any regard for any other human being and that might include yourself. A motor vehicle used like this can be like a weapon.
“Fortuitously, and thanks to police intervention, no one was killed. You made it a very difficult task and were putting their safety at risk.”
Phillips, from Carnoustie, admitted driving dangerously in 37 streets around Dundee on January 11.
He also admitted refusing to give a blood sample when it was suspected he was driving under the influence and driving while disqualified, driving a stolen vehicle, failing to stop for police and having no insurance.
Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova told the court Phillips had never held a licence and was disqualified in June last year for the latest of his previous dangerous driving offences.