A driver and his dog carried on tearing through the streets after his airbag exploded and windscreen smashed after his Vauxhall Astra hit a bus. Mark Williamson, 50, of Luther Close, St Ann's, drove into the side of a Trent Barton bus, with three passengers on-board, in Canal Street, Nottingham city centre, at 1.10pm on June 28, 2019, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
The bus driver, who suffered cuts and grazes and went to hospital with whiplash, saw Williamson's airbag explode. Despite this, the unlicensed and uninsured driver managed to make it to St Ann's Well Road.
A police officer saw Williamson's damaged car, with its exhaust hanging down and shattered windscreen, and put on his police car's lights and siren. But Williamson pulled onto the opposite side of the road and accelerated in the direction of St Ann's Police Station.
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He was driving towards other vehicles and making no attempt to stop, said Dawn Pritchard, prosecuting, on Thursday, March 24. Williamson made sharp turns without braking along narrow roads with parked cars.
He almost lost control of the car as he continued to speed. At one point, the car bounced across the road, and Williamson made no attempt to brake across a junction. He ended up in Shelton Street, St Ann's, where he accelerated up a hill over a large speed hump. The front end of the car went up in the air, came down at speed and the bonnet flew up obstructing his view.
"That's how the vehicle came to stop," added Miss Pritchard. "During all of this there was a small dog inside the vehicle which must have been thrown around during the manner of the driving."
But it was not over. A struggle began between Williamson and the police officer who had given chase. The defendant ended up being taken to the floor. The officer's radio was flung across the road in the struggle but Williamson was handcuffed and taken into custody.
Williamson claimed his car was damaged when he bought it four days earlier. He admitted driving in St Ann's but "competently and safely". He also said he did not stop because he was scared and did not think police following related to him.
But Williamson went on to plead guilty to dangerous driving, assaulting the police officer, having no licence or insurance, and failing to stop. Judge Steven Coupland told him: "Your behaviour on that day from start to finish was disgraceful."
He would have sent him to prison, if he had dealt with him the day after it happened. The offence is now two-and-half years ago, and Williamson had stayed out of trouble, noted the judge. The court heard the defendant has since suffered serious ill health limiting his mobility.
The total sentence was 13 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, with a licence endorsement for no insurance, no licence and failing to stop, as well as a two-year driving disqualification and extended retest if Williamson hopes to drive again.
