Colin Dixon, 27, collided with the woman’s vehicle, which also contained her three children, and shouted “Move your f****** car, the f****** police are chasing me.
A drug driver crashed into a car containing a mother and her three children during a police chase and shouted at her “Move your f****** car, the f****** police are chasing me. I’m on the run.” He then fled from his car and had to be tracked down by a police helicopter.
Attempts were made to stop Colin Dixon, 27, who was driving a Ford Transit between the Heads of the Valleys Road and Rhymney on February 4. Two police cars approached the vehicle at traffic lights, but the defendant reversed into one of the cars, causing damage.
A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Monday heard Dixon manoeuvred his car onto the pavement and drove through a red light at speed. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter.
He proceeded to knock over traffic cones, one of which got caught in the car’s wheels, and reached speeds of 70mph in 30mph zones.
The defendant drove towards New Tredegar and collided with a road closure sign before turning on to Queens Road, through a Give Way sign and collided with a vehicle driven by a woman, whose three children were passengers in the vehicle.
Fortunately, none of the victims were hurt but Dixon got out of the car and shouted at the woman “Move your f****** car, the f****** police are chasing me. I’m on the run.”
He and his two passengers then made off on foot and a police helicopter was deployed to track him down. The defendant was later seen hiding in brambles before attempting to hide amongst other pedestrians but he was detained and arrested.
Having been taken to Ystrad Mynach police station, Dixon was tested for drugs and gave a reading of 11 micrograms of cannabis per litre of blood, the limit being 2 micrograms. He was also found to only have a provisional licence and no insurance.
The defendant, of Church Street, Aberbargoed, later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, drug driving, and driving without licence/insurance.
He has four previous convictions for taking a vehicle without consent, driving without a licence and insurance, aggravated vehicle taking and drug driving.
In a victim personal statement, the female driver said: “The effect of the offence was significant. I was simply driving along a street I have driven down thousands of times with my children in the back of my car… I had no way of escaping it, I thought he would hit me head on with my children in the car, there was nothing I could do… I was so fearful when the driver began screaming and threatening me to move the car. My children were still present and were in a state of fear and shock. They were frozen still…
“I’ve found it difficult to drive down Queens Road and feel instant fear and on edge that everything is going to his us. Every day is a constant reminder… Even my children don’t want me to go down Queens Road but eventually became better… It’s left me fearful, angry and worried for my children. It was traumatising and worrying for us all.”
Judge Carl Harrison sentenced Dixon to 14 months imprisonment suspended for two years.
The defendant was ordered to carry out a 25 day rehabilitation activity requirement, 180 hours unpaid work, to pay compensation of £600, costs of £150 and was disqualified from driving for three years.
Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice.
