An "arrogant and selfish" Audi driver who led police on two separate high-speed chases has been jailed. Craig Sloane, 32, was jailed for 22 months and banned from driving for four years for his "reckless" antics behind the wheel, reports Manchester Evening News.
Bolton Crown Court heard that the first incident occurred on the morning of July 1, 2021, when the 32-year-old was driving a black Audi A3 in Bolton. Prosecution barrister Keith Jones says the defendant was spotted by officers who began to follow him.
Sloane began to notice officials tailing him before zooming off at 70mph down a 30mph road before turning onto St Helens Road. On this road, he upped his speed to 90mph, three times the limit, and started weaving in and out of traffic.
He then turned into Pilkington Street, where he almost crashed into a lorry. Sloane then lost control of the vehicle, mounted the pavement and narrowly avoided smashing into a parked car.
He then resumed his reckless driving spree before eventually crashing into a tree, which halted his dangerous driving. Sloane then attempted to evade officers by running through shops and attempting to climb over a metal fence.
However, he was caught when his ankle become snared in the fence and was arrested by the police. Sloane apologised to officers before admitting to his illegal actions during interview.
Following a subsequent court case, Sloane - who had failed to complete an extended retest that was ordered following a previous offence in 2014 - was disqualified from driving. Despite this, he got behind the wheel of a car again earlier this year.
On August 3, 2022, Sloane was spotted by officers while driving a white Audi A3. The defendant braked suddenly after coming round a corner and seeing the cops, at which point an officer told him to turn his engine off.
He did not comply and instead reversed and sped off away from the police. In his effort to escape, Sloane reached speeds of 80mph and drove through four red traffic lights, Jones told the court.
Once he came to a fifth red light, the driver mounted the pavement, before ignoring a 'no entry' sign and driving onto Waterloo Street. Once again, he tried to run away from officers but was arrested shortly after.
Sloane pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving while disqualified, and breach of a suspended sentence. Defending, Mark Friend admitted that with 15 convictions for 29 offences, Sloane has a “very poor set of antecedents”.
He added: “At last at the age of 32 he talks emotively of his desire to ensure that this is the last time he appears before the court. He recognises that frankly he is a little old to be acting like a teenager.”
Judge Tom Gilbart jailed Sloane, saying: “You have, by any measure, a very poor record for driving offences. This was an absolutely disgraceful way to behave and shows an arrogant disregard for the welfare of other road users. It was an arrogant and selfish piece of driving.”
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