Keresley crash: Driver of stolen Mercedes ran off leaving female passenger seriously hurt

[dutchman]

Police have confirmed officers were chasing the car when it crashed at a roundabout



A passenger in a suspected stolen car suffered serious injuries after it crashed into a tree during a police chase.

Police say the 32-year-old woman was taken to hospital with “non life-threatening injuries” after the smash in Keresley last night.

The driver of the grey Mercedes, a man thought to be in his 20s, ran away from the scene and this morning had still to be apprehended by officers.

The crash happened on the roundabout at the junction of The Scotchill and Keresley Road, near the Old Shepherd pub, at about 7.30pm after traffic cops began following the car in Phoenix Way.

The incident has now been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission as a matter of routine.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “A woman is in hospital in a serious condition after a car collided with a tree in Coventry.

“Police on routine patrol spotted a grey Mercedes that was believed to be stolen in Phoenix Way at around 7.30pm.

“The vehicle refused to stop for officers and following a short pursuit the car lost control at an island near to The Scotchill and collided with a tree.

“The driver, believed to be a man in his 20s, ran away from the scene and officers continue to make enquiries to find him.

“A 32-year-old female passenger was taken to hospital with serious injuries that are not believed to be life threatening.

“The incident has been referred to the force’s Professional Standards Department and the IPCC as is routine in such matters.”

Surrounding roads were closed for several hours to allow investigators to work at the scene.

The roundabout was still littered with debris from the Mercedes this morning.

[dutchman]

Driver jailed for horror crash that left passenger in hospital



A man who ran off from the scene of a horrific crash in Coventry that left a woman with serious injuries has been jailed for three years.

A suspected stolen Mercedes was spotted by traffic police on the A444 Phoenix Way who made chase before it ploughed in to a tree in Keresley.

The driver fled the scene at the junction of The Scotchill and Keresley Road at around 7.30pm on Saturday, November 12.

A 32-year-old woman, who was a passenger in the car, was taken to hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

Police eventually tracked down and arrested Paul Gordon, 23, of no fixed address, and he was charged in connection with the smash.

He was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and assault causing actual bodily harm.

Gordon was jailed for a total of three years; two years for causing injury by dangerous driving, plus another year for the assault charge.

He was given 18 months to run concurrently for aggravated vehicle taking and was also banned from driving for four-and-a-half years.

Gordon was given no separate penalty for document offences including no licence, no MOT and no insurance.

The incident was referred to the force’s Professional Standards Department and the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

"The incident was referred to the force’s Professional Standards Department and the Independent Police Complaints Commission." Why?

[rebbonk]

I think it was because the 'chase' ended in a crash.

[dutchman]

Ah, I see. Thanks!

[dutchman]

Driver whose girlfriend suffered shocking injuries during police chase car crash RAN OFF

A mother-of-two is still in a wheelchair a month after her boyfriend crashed a stolen car into a tree during a police chase - and then left her behind.

Cruel Paul Gordon hit speeds of 90mph in residential streets in Coventry before smashing the Mercedes into a tree in Keresley.

The passenger side of the car took the full force of the impact, causing Claire Howarth to suffer horrific injuries including a compound fracture to her lower left leg, leaving the bone protruding through the skin.

She also suffered two broken heels, three fractured ribs, bruising to her lungs and a broken nose.

Now Miss Howarth wants nothing more to do with Gordon, of Adderley Street, Hillfields.

Gordon, aged 23, was jailed for two years at Warwick Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He was also given a consecutive one-year sentence for an offence of assault, for which he was on bail at the time of the crash, and banned from driving for four-and-half years.

Of the assault charge, prosecutor Scott Coughtrie said that on October 14 a man went to the Johal supermarket in Cheveral Avenue, Coventry, to buy alcohol after finishing work.

He drank half a bottle of vodka, and was talking to some friends nearby when Gordon came up to him in an aggressive manner, asking him what he was looking at.

Gordon then walked away, but returned with a brick in his hand, so the man took refuge in the shop as Gordon paced up and down outside for about six minutes, goading him to come out.

Eventually he did come out, at which Gordon rushed him and began hitting out at him with the brick.

The man was able to block some of the blows, but was struck at least twice to the head, leaving him with what was described as a 2cm hole to his forehead.

Gordon was arrested, but was granted bail, and on November 12 police officers on patrol on the A444 at around 8pm spotted a Mercedes car which had been stolen in a burglary.

As they began to follow it Gordon sped away, heading in the direction of Nuneaton, going through a red light and reaching more than 90mph on the dual carriageway, which has a 50 limit.

He turned off, and as the chase continued along Holbrook Lane and then Burnaby Road, a residential area with cars parked on both sides of the road, he was doing 70mph.

As he continued along The Scotchill his speed increased to 90 again before he lost control and the Mercedes smashed into a tree on the roundabout at the junction with Keresley Road .

Anthony Cartin, defending, said: “He is realistic about the outcome of today. He said in the cells it’s not the sentence which bothers him, but knowing what he’s done to his partner.”

Judge Andrew Lockhart QC observed: “As she lay with an open fracture, he ran off.”

Gordon interrupted from the dock to claim the reason he had run away was because his two kids were at a friend’s house, and he went to get them to take them to her mother’s.

Mr Cartin said Gordon had been living with Miss Howarth, who at 32 was significantly older than him and had a 13-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, for six or seven years, and they had a daughter together.

Jailing Gordon, who vociferously refused to stay in the dock and was taken back to the cells, Judge Lockhart said: “How no-one else was injured is only a matter of chance.

“He drove at 90 in a residential area. If a child had stepped onto the roadway, they would have died.

“The car eventually goes off the road at a roundabout and skids into a tree, and Miss Howarth took the brunt of it. She is still in a wheelchair, but happily has not been paralysed.”

And at her request, the judge made a restraining order banning Gordon from contacting her or her parents or going to the road in which she lives.