Whitburn motorist crashed into a garden fence while trying to evade the police
A South Tyneside danger driver desperate to evade police crashed his car into a garden fence when he jumped from it while still moving, a court heard.
Kieran Carberry, 28, was tailed in Cleadon by officers who spotted him driving a Vauxhall Astra above the speed limit on Friday, September 19.
The five-minute chase ended when Carberry, of East Street, Whitburn, drove into a dead end, prosecutor Clare Haswell said.
Instead of giving up, he leapt from the driver’s seat, abandoning the motor to career into the fence and causing up to £300 of damage.
At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving and failing to provide a sample for analysis.
He also admitted failing to stop for police, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.
District Judge Zoe Passfield told him she was minded to send him straight into custody but adjourned the case for reports after a plea by his defence solicitor.
Ms Haswell said: “Officers were on duty in Cleadon when the vehicle ahead was travelling at high speed.
“Officers caught up, but the other vehicle immediately accelerated away.
“At one point, the defendant’s vehicle took a blind offside bend. His speed was 40mph in a 20mph area.
“The pursuit lasted five minutes and ended when the defendant drove into a dead end.
“When the vehicle was still travelling, the defendant got out of the driver’s side. The vehicle went through a garden fence.”
After his arrest, Carberry gave a roadside breath test reading of 12mcg of alcohol. The legal limit is 35mcg.
But police suspected he was still intoxicated and requested he give a blood sample.
Ms Haswell added: “He became irate and was verbally abusive. He refused to provide a sample.
“The offences are aggravated because he was evading police, and it is possible he was under the influence of drugs.”
Carberry has 20 previous convictions from 38 offences, including one for drug driving in 2021.
Kate Clark, defending, said Carberry had mental health issues that needed to be examined before he could be sentenced.
Judge Passfield handed Carberry an interim driving ban and granted him unconditional bail to be sentenced at the same court on Wednesday, November 26.