Banned driver sped at 50mph through hospital grounds
POLICE CHASE ENDED WITH CRASH
You could have killed yourself and more importantly you could have killed somebody else
Judge Hilary Manley
A ROGUE driver led police on a highspeed chase – which included travelling at 50mph through the grounds of a hospital, Manchester Crown Court heard.
A judge said it was fortunate Hawreh Khoshnaw, 20, didn’t hurt or kill anyone when he stole an Audi and led police on a four-minute pursuit, reaching speeds of more than 70mph on 30mph limit suburban roads in north Manchester.
The drama ended when he crashed into a tree and railings. The car was written off but he got out of the car without a scratch.
Police gave chase when they saw Khoshnaw, a trainee barber who was already banned from the roads for a previous misdemeanour, overtaking another car on Waterloo Road in Cheetham Hill during the early hours of September 3. The Audi overtook a number of other vehicles and went into North Manchester General
Hospital in Crumpsall.
“It was seen to pass, ironically, the accident and emergency department at speeds of about 50mph,” said Mr Kennerley.
The car was travelling so fast the following officers couldn’t read its registration. But the chase came to an end when it failed to negotiate a bend and crashed into a tree and railings on Crumpsall Lane. Police dash-cam footage showed Khoshnaw was able to step out of the car unscathed. His girlfriend, sitting in the passenger seat, was also unhurt, the court heard.
The car, valued at £3,200, was written off and the owner – the mother of Khoshnaw’s girlfriend – had to pay an insurance excess of £350 and also lost her no claims bonus, said Mr Kennerley.
The court heard Khoshnaw, who was 19 at the time of the incident was serving a six-month driving ban for driving without insurance at the time.
Dan Calder, defending, told the court his client understood it was ‘a matter of good fortune’ no-one was hurt or killed.
Khoshnaw, of Biddisham Walk, Collyhurst, was handed a 12-month suspended sentence after he admitted dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving while disqualified and aggravated vehicle taking.
He was also banned from the roads for two years and placed on a curfew for the next six months which requires him to be at home between 9pm and 7am. Judge Hilary Manley said: “This was an appalling piece of driving. You could have killed yourself and more importantly you could have killed somebody else. “What’s of the greatest concern is what could be seen as an attitude from you that reflects that you simply don’t care. It’s hard to tell whether that’s the case or not.”
The judge said she been ‘just persuaded’ to suspend the sentence.