A policeman later said that it was one of the “most reckless and dangerous acts” that he had ever seen
Disaster struck when a panicking driver who was desperately trying to flee from the chasing police suddenly crashed straight into a traffic island – sending the car into the air with all four wheels leaving the road. The car landed on a barrier, causing serious damage, and the driver tried to run away and scale a fence before being caught.
A policeman later said that it was one of the “most reckless and dangerous acts” that he had ever seen, Hull Crown Court heard. Callum Cook, 26, formerly of Barham Road, Bilton Grange, east Hull, but recently of no fixed address, admitted dangerous driving and having no insurance on August 25.
Annabelle Coakley, prosecuting, said that, just after 1am, police in Wawne Road, Bransholme, were alerted to a blue Hyundai Getz car that had no front registration plate. It was surrounded by members of the public.
The police car pulled alongside the parked car near the Wawne Ferry pub. Two men were getting inside.
It sped off onto Wawne Road and some of the people tried to prevent the police car following it but the officers managed to get through. The police activated their blue flashing lights and sirens but the car, driven by Cook, failed to stop and reached speeds of 50mph in a 30mph limit.
The passengers were seen waving out of the windows and seemed to be showing anger towards the driver. The car – belonging to someone else – increased its speed in Biggin Avenue and it was driven straight into a raised traffic island – causing it to become airborne with all four wheels leaving the road.
It landed on a barrier, causing serious damage. Cook got out of the car and fled. He was chased by police and was caught after trying to scale a fence.
His speech was slurred, he was intoxicated and his behaviour was erratic. “He made a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road,” said Miss Coakley.
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It was a “highly dangerous manoeuvre”. A police officer later said that the driving was one of the “most reckless and dangerous acts” that he had witnessed.
Cook was taken to hospital but he refused to wait for treatment. During police interview, he made no comment to all questions. He failed to provide a breath sample after claiming that an officer had kicked him in the body, making it painful for him to blow into the machine.
Cook had convictions in April 2023 for two offences of driving over the drug limit, for cocaine and cannabis, in 2022. He had been banned from driving for one year.
Billy Torbett, mitigating, said that Cook pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity but his previous convictions were very relevant. “He knows that this offending is wholly unacceptable,” said Mr Torbett.
“There is a significant level of immaturity here and he knows that he has still got some growing up to do. He knows that his actions were dangerous. It was, quite clearly, outright dangerous.
“His poor decision making was down to instinct and he knew that he was going to be in trouble. He knew that he wasn’t insured. He decided to try to evade the police.”
Cook knew that he had no insurance and he could have just taken his punishment for that but he panicked at the thought of a prison sentence. “He is ashamed of himself,” said Mr Torbett. “He knows that his actions were idiotic.
“He uses that word himself. Given the state of his driving, things could have been quite different.” Father-of-two Cook was “sofa surfing” and he had previously worked for a caravan roof manufacturer but lost that job.
Cook, who had been on bail, was jailed for one year. He was banned from driving for three-and-a-half years and he will have to pass an extended retest before he can drive legally again.