A MAN who drove on the wrong side of the road in Darfield while being chased by police appeared in court this week.
The 56-year-old was involved in the chase on Nanny Marr Road in the Darfield area and took ‘dangerous actions’ to evade officers.
Just after 8pm on Friday, officers from the roads policing team were on patrol and sighted an Audi A5 which they believed was being driven on false plates.
As one officer exited the police car to speak to the driver, the driver suddenly accelerated and attempted to strike the officer with his vehicle.
The driver fled the scene, and a pursuit commenced, during which the driver drove on the wrong side of the road, exceeded the speed limits and carried out dangerous manoeuvres.
With the driver showing no signs of stopping, the officer used their vehicle to push the driver away from the carriageway, but determined to evade officers the driver travelled over a roundabout and began to head towards oncoming traffic.
At that point, the officer again used their car to push the vehicle towards the barrier and bring the pursuit to an end.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, assault by beating of an emergency service worker and fraudulent use of a registration document.
Checks on the vehicle later showed it had been reported stolen.
The man was further arrested on suspicion of aggravated vehicle taking.
He spent the weekend in the cells for questioning.
Inspector Matt Collings said: “Those involved in criminality will take extreme risks, risking their own lives and those of our officers and innocent road users.
“Throughout a pursuit, our experienced roads policing officers monitor and manage the risk, and take opportunities to bring the pursuit to a safe conclusion and ensure those responsible are arrested.
“As with every police response, our officers carry risk, putting their own safety on the line to protect and serve their communities.
“They shouldn’t be intentionally targeted to be put in fear or harm.
“The quick thinking actions of another officer ensured the officer wasn’t seriously injured and could continue their shift, but the outcome could have been very different - this will not be tolerated.”
