Driver with no licence nor insurance led police on terrifying chase
A motorist with neither insurance nor a proper driving licence led police on a terrifying chase through the Black Country after mistakenly believing they were looking for him, a judge heard yesterday.
Trevor Mills panicked when the unmarked patrol car behind him in traffic suddenly activated its siren and blue flashing lights, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
The 23-year-old feared he was their target and tried to escape by suddenly accelerating away down South Road, Tipton, revealed prosecutor David Lees. In fact the offices were responding to a call they had just received to an unrelated incident but the reaction of the driver ensured they continued to follow him, continued the lawyer.
Mills careered through a set of red lights at 70 mph and went the wrong way round traffic islands in a futile bid to get away , the court heard.
He reached 83 mph in a 30 mph limit, and hurtled over a hump back bridge at 62 mph. The six mile chase continued the wrong way down the West Bromwich ring road for a short distance and before heading down Kelvin Way as Mills swerved in and out of traffic at speeds of up to 85 mph, revealed Mr Lees.
It ended in nearby Telford Way where he lost control while approaching a round about on the dual carriageway, spun onto the central reservation and came to rest facing his police pursuers. He was arrested and found to be well below the drink drive limit after the incident that started at 8.40pm on September 6. When questioned by police Mills explained: "I panicked because I had not got insurance or a proper licence."
Mills from Yew Tree Hills, Netherton, who had a previous conviction for similar offences, admitted dangerous driving and having neither insurance nor a licence and was given a 42-week jail sentence suspended for two years with 180 hours unpaid work and a two month night time curfew.
Judge Martin Walsh told him: "It is only by virtue of good fortune that nobody was killed or seriously injured."
