Man, 20, charged after crash on A5 that left four people injured
The driver of a Ford Fiesta is in custody after the suspected stolen car was chased by police.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a car crash in Cannock.
Four people, including a 10-year-old boy, were taken to hospital when the car crashed on the A5 after it was chased by police during rush hour.
Josiah Johnson, of Copthall Road, Handsworth, has been charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving, handling stolen goods, disqualified driving and possession of a bladed article.
He is also charged with failing to provide a breath specimen, failing to stop, possession of a class-B drug (cannabis) and driving without insurance.
He will appear before magistrates in Newcastle-under-Lyme tomorrow morning and has been remanded in custody.
Injuries
The 10-year-old boy was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital after the collision at the junction of Gains Lane and the A5 in Cannock at around 4.30pm yesterday but he was not as seriously injured as first thought.
A woman, who was trapped in her car, had to be freed by firefighters and was taken to hospital with the other two children in her car.
A two-mile stretch of the A5 was shut westbound for around eight hours after the crash, which happened after a police chase involving a Ford Fiesta alleged to have been stolen.
Officers had called off the pursuit for safety reasons before the Fiesta ST3 Turbo was involved in a crash with a Citroen Picasso - the car the injured woman was driving with the children inside.
All four suffered minor injuries but only the women's injuries were serious enough to require hospital treatment, Staffordshire Police said.
The A5 was shut westbound between the M6 Toll at Junction T7 and Turf Island for the B4154 until after midnight while collision investigators examined the scene.
Air ambulance
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called at 4.27pm to reports of a two-car collision at the junction of the A5 and Gains Lane in Cannock.
"Four ambulances, a paramedic officer and the Midlands Air Ambulance from Staffordshire were sent to the scene.
"One of the children was helped out of the car by the fire service and treated by ambulance staff for serious injuries before being taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital by land ambulance.
"The doctor from the Air Ambulance travelled to help continue treatment en-route to hospital.
“Three boys and a woman, the driver of the car, were treated for less serious injuries by crews before all being transported to Walsall Manor Hospital for further assessment.”
Two Staffordshire Fire Service crews, including 10 firefighters, were sent to the scene from Cannock and Aldridge.
Staffordshire Police are appealing for witnesses and any motorists with dashcam footage of the incident are urged to contact 101 quoting incident 107/18/10.
