Driver jailed for A1 crash that wrecked five police cars

The Guardian

5 days ago

A personal trainer who was on a first date when he caused a 'catastrophic collision' on the A1 that wrecked five police cars has been jailed for 14 months.
A judge at Newcastle crown court on Monday told Mazyar Azarbonyad, 20, it was 'nothing short of a miracle that no one was more seriously injured or that there were not multiple fatalities' in the incident that led to seven officers needing hospital treatment and caused traffic chaos across the north-east of England.
The court heard that Azarbonyad failed to stop when pursued by police and at one point reached a speed of more than 120mph in his BMW X5.
Courtney Redfern, who was being driven home by Azarbonyad after a date, told him several times to stop, according to Jolyon Perks, prosecuting. The barrister added: 'In her opinion, she thought he could have killed someone.'
At an earlier hearing, Azarbonyad pleaded guilty to dangerous driving over the crash on the A1 near Denton Burn, Newcastle, in the early hours of 9 April. One police officer suffered soft tissue damage to her knee and nerve damage to her back, requiring her to remain in hospital for three days. Another needed stitches for a cut to his forehead.
Dramatic pictures the following day showed wrecked police cars on one of the busiest stretches of road in the north east.
Judge Tim Gittins said: 'It led to regional traffic chaos, misery for many travellers, not to mention the substantial loss of work and study hours for those that were caught up in the aftermath of what you caused.'
Police wanted to stop Azarbonyad because he was driving over the speed limit and had defective rear lights. The court heard he had bought the vehicle on finance despite having a provisional driving licence, no insurance and later admitting to officers he had paid for only three driving lessons.
The judge said: 'You should have been nowhere near the driving seat of any vehicle that night, let alone one such as a BMW X5, a large and powerful SUV.'
Azarbonyad initially pulled over for police but when an officer approached his car on foot he said 'nah' and made off at speed, according to his passenger.
When Azarbonyad was interviewed he described his driving as 'shit', but did not accept he braked harshly and said the police chasing him were travelling too fast, Perks told the court.
In the days that followed his release on bail he continued to drive to the gym where he worked before he was arrested at a petrol station.
Supt Billy Mulligan, of Northumbria police, said four of the seven officers who were injured in the crash remained off work.
He added: 'It is sheer luck that Mazyar Azarbonyad did not kill anyone that day with his reckless actions.'
The court heard that the defendant arrived in the UK after fleeing his home country Iran when he was 14 and settled in Stanley, County Durham.