Dad reached 130mph in Mercedes E-Class fleeing police on …
A dad-of-three who clocked 130mph as he attempted to flee from police despite having a deflated tyre has been jailed. Tabrez Ali was ‘intoxicated’ when he got behind the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz E Class E350.
Ali, 38, went the wrong way around a roundabout, ran red lights and ‘weaved’ through traffic after zooming off the M6. His driving was so dangerous he ‘could have died or killed someone else’ during the early morning nine-minute pursuit, a judge said.
A court heard how Warwickshire Police[1] began pursuing Ali and deployed a stinger but it did not deflate his tyres sufficiently. West Midlands Police[2] then joined the bid to catch the 38-year-old once he crossed into its jurisdiction, reports BirminghamLive[3].
It had been raining prior to the pursuit, which started at around 3.30am on May 5. Ali failed to stop for officers before leaving the M6 at its junction with the A34, heading towards Birmingham[5].
He accelerated to 80mph as he passed through the gantry, where there was a 40mph speed limit due to workmen nearby. Congestion had ‘built up’ because of the roadworks but Ali ‘overtook’ other vehicles on the carriageway.
Ali then zoomed at 90mph along Walsall Road before reaching a maximum speed of 130mph. Ali went on to jump three red traffic lights, drive the wrong way around a roundabout and undertake other drivers at speed.
He also moved from lane to lane ‘weaving without any indication’. Ali then turned into Church Street at 48mph before mounting the kerb and hitting a bollard.
Ali leapt out of his seat with his hands up and was quickly arrested by officers who had been trailing him and had a police dog. A roadside breath test revealed he had 57 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the court heard.
Defending, Queenie Djan said Ali was ‘under the influence of alcohol’ at the time and had spent the past year ‘binge drinking due to stress’. His offending was a result of a ‘series of poor decision making’ but he is remorseful, the court was told.
Ms Djan said: “He deeply regrets his actions that day and understands and accepts how dangerous his driving was and what harm he risked causing to others. He panicked knowing he should not have been behind the wheel, let alone intoxicated.”
Sentencing, Judge Simon Ward branded Ali a ‘habitual dangerous driver’. He said: “It is frankly astonishing that somebody was not badly hurt or killed. It is quite surprising it was not you.”
Ali, of Vere Road, Peterborough, admitted drink-driving, dangerous driving, driving with no insurance and driving whilst disqualified. He was jailed for 13 months and handed a driving ban of at least four-and-a-half years, reports BirminghamLive[6].
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References
- ^ Warwickshire Police (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ West Midlands Police (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ BirminghamLive (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Police vow to crackdown on illegal off-road bikers in Coventry (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ Birmingham (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ BirminghamLive (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ here (data.reachplc.com)
- ^ Coventry (www.coventrytelegraph.net)