Leicester motorist crashed into a tree at Tebay trying to flee police
Police decided to stop the VW Touran that was being driven by 22-year-old Vilson Lila on May 11 last year and initially he indicated as if he was pulling in, Carlisle[1] Crown Court heard.
But at the last moment, the defendant sped away, at one point reaching 90mph as he sought to get away from the police.
Lila pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. Prosecutor Brendan Burke outlined the facts.
“At 8.20pm on May 11 last year the defendant was seen driving a VW Touran, heading south at Junction 39 on the M6,” said the prosecutor.
“Because the vehicle was listed as being off-road, the police illuminated their lights, indicated that they wanted him to stop.”
The barrister described what the defendant did next – indicating left as if he was about to pull over – as a deception.
But instead of leaving the motorway, Lila at the last moment steered back on to the M6 and continued south, accelerating to a speed of 90mph, continuing to drive fast even as he went through temporary roadworks with a 50mph limit.
“On entering Tebay Services, he lost control of the vehicle,” said Mr Burke. “He hit some chevrons and crashed into a tree, which was ripped out, and travelled a short distance with the car.”
When the car stopped, the defendant and another man who was with him in the car fled. The defendant was caught 300 yards away in a field.
The court heard that Lila had come to the UK illegally from Albania and since that time he had accumulated a number of convictions, including a drugs offence for which he was given suspended jail.
Andrew Gurney, defending, asked Recorder Julian Shaw to give the defendant 'one last chance'.
“He panicked,” said the lawyer, pointing out that Lila accepted fully the prosecution case and that he should not have been driving.
He added that the defendant – who appeared distressed as he stood in the dock – was remorseful.
Recorder Shaw told Lila that he had driven at 'grossly excessive speed' in an attempt to evade capture by the police.
He noted that while awaiting sentence for this offence, the defendant had become involved in supplying cannabis and was duly sentenced for that second set of offences. Yet he had failed to disclose his driving offences when he was being dealt with for the drugs offence.
The judge told Lila: “You are in this country illegally and the course of the last seven months you have amassed considerable criminal convictions.”
The Recorder said he was not entirely convinced that Lila felt a great deal of remorse, saying: “It’s just self-pity at the prospect of having to go back into prison.”
But, said Recorder Shaw, he was just persuaded that he could suspend the 12-month jail term he imposed for two years, keeping the defendant out of the currently overcrowded prison system.
The sentence includes 180 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity days.
Lila, of Tom Paine Close, Braunstone, Leicester, was also banned for 15 months and told he must pass an extended retest before he can drive independently.