HGV rams police car in chase before suspect tries to flee by running …
Five men have been arrested following a high-speed police pursuit which saw one of the suspects run along the M42[1]. Officers found 200 crates of suspected stolen spirits in a suspected stolen HGV.
An HGV on cloned plates failed to stop for the Central Motorway Police at around 10am on Friday, September 8. Officers put a road closure in place and the lorry was stung with the front tyres deflated.
However, those inside continued on until a further stinger was deployed to deflate the rear tyres, said West Midlands Police[2]. It is alleged the driver then exited the motorway before driving the wrong way down the exit slip road.
Officers said the HGV rammed a police vehicle and hit several other cars, leaving an officer with suspected broken ribs, before eventually coming to a stop and blocking the slip road.
Police say a man, who was the driver, ‘ran off along the motorway’ but was quickly detained. A further four men were detained, one passenger and three in the rear, on suspicion of vehicle theft and burglary.
It is believed one of the men required hospital treatment for injuries sustained when they came to a stop, said West Midlands Ambulance Service[4]. Officers described the actions of the suspects as extremely ‘dangerous’ and said they showed a ‘complete disregard to other road users.’
Officers seized the HGV for forensic examination, and the five men, aged between 22 and 40, arrested at the scene were taken into custody. Drivers said the incident led to long delays on the busy motorway with queues reported throughout the day on Friday (September 8).
A spokesman for West Midlands Police[5] said: “It was a dynamic incident seeing officers from West Midlands, Warwickshire[6] and Staffordshire working together to arrest these acquisitive criminals and bring a safe conclusion to what can only be described as dangerous action with complete disregard to other road users.”
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References
- ^ M42 (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ West Midlands Police (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ BMW driver jailed after deliberately mowing down man after ‘dispute’ in Coventry (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ West Midlands Ambulance Service (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ West Midlands Police (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ Warwickshire (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ here (data.reachplc.com)
- ^ Coventry (www.coventrytelegraph.net)