Man jailed after police chase

A kamikaze driver has been jailed after a highspeed police chase. The judge said it was a “miracle” that no-one was injured.

A kamikaze driver has been jailed after a high-speed police chase in which he almost ploughed into two officers on foot and smashed into an unmarked car. A Crown Court judge said it was a “miracle” that no-one was seriously injured during Abraham Fox’s harumscarum driving antics through country villages around Scarborough, during which he shot through traffic lights, took roundabouts on the wrong side of the road and tore through residential areas at speeds of up to 100mph.

The 26-year-old, who had a young child in the back seat, was pursued by traffic officers after he came out of a Macdonald’s restaurant and got into a VW Golf which he was uninsured and unlicensed to drive, York Crown Court heard.

What followed next was a breath-taking display of reckless driving which culminated in two police community support officers diving for safety and two traffic officers suffering whiplash injuries.

Prosecutor Rob Galley said that police, suspecting Fox was an illegal driver, had followed the Volkswagen towards Eastfield, where he stopped for a Macdonald’s meal. They gave chase after he came out of the fast-food restaurant on his way back to the Seamer Horse Fair, where he had been staying.

But the Golf sped off in a blaze of screeching tyres and bombed down Cayton Low Road, where another police car took up the chase as the VW hit speeds of almost 90mph in a 60mph zone. It then sped up to a roundabout at Cayton Bay at 108mph and took the exit on the wrong side of the road, near a blind bend, as it shot through the village at 80mph.

The VW’s speed dial touched 100mph in a 40mph zone, and went the wrong way around a roundabout.

Fox’s car was struck by a pursuing police car and it smashed into an unmarked police car.

“Two officers had to jump quickly out of the way to avoid being hit,” said Mr Galley.

The child, who was visibly “distressed”, was not strapped to a seat belt.

Fox, of Rowanwood Gardens, Bradford, was arrested and charged with dangerous driving and having no licence or insurance. He admitted the offences and was jailed for 17 months, and given a four-year driving ban.