A South Cheshire man has been jailed after driving into a telegraph pole and injuring his female passenger as he attempted to evade police.
Andrew Beard (pictured), of Goulding Drive, Crewe, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.
The 23-year-old was sentenced for the offences at Chester Crown Court yesterday (August 15).
He was jailed for 10 months, banned from driving for three years and five months and ordered to pay a £149 victim surcharge.
An officer attempted to pull over the silver BMW Beard was driving on Ford Lane in Crewe shortly after 3pm on Wednesday July 3.
The officer was told the vehicle needed to be stopped due to the manner it was being driven.
Beard refused to stop and instead accelerated in an attempt to evade arrest.
He drove in excess of 50mph in residential areas with 30mph speed limits.
The pursuing officer witnessed him dangerously overtaking vehicles and not giving way at junctions.
A motorist had to break sharply to avoid colliding with the BMW as it drove straight across a junction despite not having right of way.
Beard also caused parents and children walking home from a primary school to take evasive action while crossing the road as the speeding BMW approached.
After being pursued along Ford Lane, Ellis Street, Evans Street, Holland Street and Broad Street, Beard eventually stopped his car after colliding with a telegraph pole on Stoneley Road.
The collision left his passenger, a 27-year-old woman, with a minor injury that required hospital treatment.
Beard was arrested at the scene and revealed in custody he had bought the BMW that day and had refused to pull over as he did not have a valid licence and was not insured.
Inspector John Forshaw, of Crewe Local Policing Unit, said: “Thankfully no one was seriously injured as a result of Andrew Beard’s dangerous driving in residential areas of the town.
“The consequences of this incident could have been far worse.
“Forty-six people died on Cheshire’s roads last year, with many of these collisions caused by dangerous driving.
“Cars can be lethal weapons, particularly when they are being driving dangerously, speeding and not following the rules of the road, as was the case when Beard attempted to evade arrest.
“He put his life, his passenger’s life and the lives of other road users and pedestrians, including children on their way home from school, at considerable risk.
“I am delighted Beard is now behind bars facing the consequences of his actions and I hope the sentence handed down by Chester Crown Court deters others from committing similar offences.”
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