THANKS to dedicated officers’ teamwork, a disqualified driver who drove dangerously to evade police before running out of fuel, has been jailed.
Waqar Saeed, 32, of Langthorne Road, Greater London, was jailed for a total of 18 months for driving whilst disqualified and two counts of dangerous driving when he appeared at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday 15 November. Furthermore, he was banned from driving for three years and seven months.
On the evening of Friday 16 September, Thurrock’s Community Police Team (CPT) officers stopped a car to speak to the driver after witnessing the Audi contravene the hatched area on the A126 whilst it waited to turn into the B186, to a car park at Lakeside Shopping centre.
After giving officers what he claimed was his name, the driver got back into the car saying he was looking for his ID. He then closed the door and drove off, leaving the car park and driving dangerously across a zebra crossing on the wrong side of the B186 carriageway and contravening a keep left bollard.
Undeterred and working together to find the driver, Roads Policing officers located the car shortly after midnight (Saturday 17 September) being driven on the Brentwood stretch of the M25.
The Audi was followed into Kent as it travelled at a top speed of 150mph along the M20 for around a minute before it came to an abrupt stop on the hard shoulder because it had run out of fuel.
Officers discovered the driver’s true identity after he was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and enquiries showed he was disqualified from driving until March 2023.
Waqar Saeed was remanded in custody to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday 19 September where he pleaded guilty.
PC Dan Corr, said: “Waqar Saeed knew he was disqualified from driving before he stepped behind the wheel of the car and he drove dangerously and without regard to all other road users that night in an attempt to evade arrest. But the great teamwork between the CPT and RPU officers meant he was quickly arrested, reducing the risk to other road users.
“Saeed also had passengers in his car when he was arrested. Should he have crashed, it would have been catastrophic.
“Those drivers who pose a risk of high harm or carry out criminal activities on our roads will always be robustly dealt with.”
Our Roads Policing Unit work tirelessly to make our roads in Essex safe and work alongside our partners at Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP) to support Operation Vision Zero, our ambition to have zero road deaths in Essex by 2040.
If you witness poor or dangerous driving and capture it on dash cam, you can upload the footage to Extra Eyes where it will be reviewed for appropriate action to be taken.
For more information, visit About SERP – SERP (saferessexroads.org)
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