Van thief left driver fighting for his life
Two Houghton thieves left a delivery driver fighting for his life after he was thrown from the bonnet of his own van.
The driver was on his route in Newbiggin days before Christmas in 2019 when he jumped out of his Citroen Berlingo to drop off a parcel at an address on Derwentwater Road.
Unbeknown to the driver, Anthony Newall, 32, and Adam Gray, 28, both of Houghton, had clocked his vehicle.
The thieves waited nearby and when the driver exited his car, Newall jumped in the driver’s seat – taking off at high speed with Gray in their own vehicle following nearby.
The driver bravely tried to halt the car, jumping on the bonnet of the Berlingo in a bid to stop the thieves.
Newall then drove down the street with the victim on the bonnet before he fell off and struck his head on the kerb as he hit the ground.
Newall fled the scene, leaving the driver bleeding and unconscious in the street.
The driver was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and was placed in a medically induced coma.
Following the incident on December 16, an extensive investigation was launched and Newall and Gray were both charged with robbery.
Newall also faced a further charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Newall, of Sunderland Street, appeared before magistrates in Newcastle last year where he pleaded guilty to all charges and was later sentenced to five years and four months behind bars and handed a driving ban of seven years and eight months.
Last Monday, Gray, of Mill Terrace, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court where pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of theft from a vehicle. He was handed a community order, placed on a four-month home curfew and given a rehabilitation order.
He maintained he was not part of a joint enterprise to commit robbery – and only believed theft was to take place.
PC Jon Sadler said: “Luckily, the victim is making good progress but this could quite easily have had a more devastating ending.
“I would like to thank the victim for his bravery and cooperation, and hope this outcome can help offer him some closure. Anthony Newall’s despicable actions could have cost the driver his life as well as his livelihood.”