Speeding driver with girlfriend and baby in car jailed after chase
HE LED OFFICERS ON PURSUIT AT SPEEDS OF UP TO 110MPH
A MAN who led police on a high-speed pursuit past primary schools with his baby son and pregnant ex-partner in the car has been jailed.
Sam Leveridge, 25, drove at up to 110mph along the M62 before swerving towards a police vehicle and turning off towards the village of North Cave.
He was sped past two primary schools in the area before swerving to narrowly avoid a collision and oncoming traffic.
Officers discovered that his baby son, who will turn one in a few weeks’ time, and his ex-partner, who was six months pregnant, were also in the car.
Leveridge appeared at Hull Crown Court on Friday, November 13, where he was to be sentenced for six offences including dangerous driving.
The “appalling episode” took place on the afternoon of October 14 where officers on traffic duty on the M62 near Goole witnessed Leveridge driving a silver Vauxhall Astra in excess of the speed limit heading eastbound.
The officer gave chase and Leveridge “panicked” and began to undertake and overtake cars at up to 110mph.
“At the North Cave junction, as the officer set to pull alongside, Leveridge swerved towards him,” said prosecuting barrister Catherine Kioko-gilligan.
“The officer saw two female passengers inside. The defendant continued towards North Cave where the speed limit is 40mph and he was travelling in excess of 70mph overtaking traffic.
“Upon entering the village, where the speed limit is 30mph, he continued at 50 until he was brought to a standstill by roadworks.”
Leveridge then swerved around traffic and drove along a footpath to evade police and continued to drive in excess of the speed limit as he drove past North Cave Primary School.
The pursuit continued along Sand
Lane in North Cave and on towards South Cave, where Leveridge overtook cars driving in excess of the speed limit.
Leveridge drove at 70mph in a 30mph zone and drove at speed passing South Cave Primary School.
“He sped through a school area narrowly missing a collision with a vehicle which caused him to swerve and avoid hitting oncoming traffic,” said Ms Kioko-gilligan.
“At that stage he then alighted from the vehicle. Other officers were asked to assist and the defendant was arrested a short time later.”
Two female passengers were seen in the car, one of which was Leveridge’s former partner with whom he had been prohibited from contacting or seeing due to a non-molestation order.
At Hull Crown Court, it was heard that the removal of the nonmolestation order was pending at the time and that Leveridge had picked up his former partner in Halifax to take her to Hull.
Leveridge, of Link Road in Cottingham, has 12 convictions from 23 offences and has a history of driving offences.
He was disqualified from driving on two separate occasions after being sentenced for drug driving, first in October 2017 and again in January 2019.
Leveridge was given a 16-week suspended prison sentence in March 2019 for driving while disqualified and was jailed for 32 weeks in January earlier this year after he was caught driving a stolen car.
Mitigating barrister Richard Thompson said: “The serious criminality is of course the dangerous driving. He simply panicked when he realised the police were about to stop him. He knew the reason why and that he was in trouble.”
Judge Thackray told Leveridge that he had already “been given many chances” and was not prepared to suspend his sentence.
“It was an appalling episode of dangerous driving,” he said. “It was only good fortune that others were not seriously injured or worse it could have ended very badly.
Leveridge was sentenced to a 18 months in jail, of which he will spend half on licence. He was disqualified from driving for two years and nine months.