Police chase crash left delivery drivers in hospital

Leon Handley, aged 34, of Holloway Street, Bilston was stopped by police during a routine spot check in Stafford Road, Wolverhampton while driving his silver Volkswagen Golf at 3.15am on November 13.

However, while the three passengers travelling with Handley got out of the car, the driver sped off, fearing he was going to go back to prison and led police on a wild chase at ever increasing speeds before crashing into a white van that was pulling out of a side street and into Stafford Road.

Mr Lee Marklew, prosecuting, said the officers reported Handley's driving was initially not too bad, as he was doing 50mph in a 40mph zone, but his speed gradually increased and he was taking turns and bends in such a manner that it became obvious to the police that he was about to lose control.

The Golf initially hit a wall before ricocheting across the road and into the white van, causing the front of the van to shear off, before destroying a nearby lamp post.

Mr Marklew said: "The defendant was clearly in shock and in the van were two delivery drivers and they were taken to a nearby hospital, but there injuries were mercifully quite minor.

"One of them was quite shocked about what happened because the vehicle was filled with fuel and he thought it might catch fire. The other gentleman said he also went to hospital and had problems with his back."

He added that Handley, who pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court to dangerous driving, using a vehicle without insurance and possessing a controlled drug, had a history of offending that dated back to 1993, including a number of road traffic offences.

Mr Ecky Tiwana, mitigating, said Handley had been released from prison and was gradually rebuilding his life, rekindling his relationship with his girlfriend, but had kept 'unfortunate' old acquaintances.

He added he had done good work in prison, including mentoring and was starting to rehabilitate himself.

On the night of the crash, Mr Tiwana said Handley panicked because he feared he would be going back to prison and sped off, but had learned his lesson and was not going to drive in the future.

The drug offence was for possessing a small quantity of cocaine.

Sentencing Handley to 35 weeks in prison and disqualifying him from driving for 12 months, judge Peter Barrie told the defendant: "When the van was struck, the occupants could have been very seriously injured. As it happens, they suffered slight injuries, but you yourself suffered serious injuries as a result of driving very dangerously in wet conditions."