Driver crashed into river in bid to escape police
CITY MAN ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK’ IN CHASE BY PITCH AND TOWPATH
A DANGEROUS driver led police on a chase across a rugby pitch before crashing into a river.
Daniel Galloway managed to get out of the car while it was in the water, before being arrested by police.
Officers were called to the Holme Pierrepont National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham on the afternoon of August 23, after reports that a Mercedes car had been broken into and items stolen.
The occupants of a Vauxhall Corsa, seen at the location, were suspected to have been involved in auto crime.
As officers entered the complex they saw the Corsa coming towards them. It came to a stop.
When one of the officers approached the vehicle, Galloway, 39, of Stoneygate Road, Leicester, drove off the road on to a grassed bank and into a lightly wooded area.
The Corsa was “skidding all over the place” on the mud as a police chase began, Nottinghamshire Police said.
Galloway drove through a wire fence, over a fence post and then on to a rugby field.
The Corsa continued to head towards the River Trent before hitting raised banking and then entering the water.
The car was floating in the river about 15 metres from the bank.
Galloway swam away from the vehicle towards the officers, who arrested him when he reached the bank. He was taken to hospital as a precaution.
The car continued to float down the Trent about a hundred yards before it was recovered. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service used a powered rescue boat to retrieve it from the river.
Galloway went on to plead guilty to charges of dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving while disqualified and theft from a motor vehicle.
He was jailed for a total of two years when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on September 29 for sentencing.
Galloway received a 15-month sentence for dangerous driving, was banned from driving for three years and must take an extended re-test.
He was given a nine-month sentence, to be served consecutively, for theft from a motor vehicle and a
12-week concurrent sentence for driving while disqualified.
His driving licence was endorsed and there was no separate penalty for driving without insurance.
Pc Matthew Hempsall said: “Galloway put the lives of members of the public at risk by driving in the way he did as he attempted to evade arrest.
“Not only were there pedestrians on the towpath which he drove over at speed but there were children within the same area of water where his vehicle landed.
“I’m glad we have managed to take him off the road and hope this sends a strong message that we will take positive action against dangerous drivers.”