A drug driving teen drove the wrong way down the A30 in Cornwall in an attempt to evade police, a court has heard. Charlie Shaw, 19, was pursued by officers for four-and-a-half miles in what was described by the judge as an “appalling piece of driving”.
Shaw, of Long Rock, Pendeen, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentencing today (January 3) after pleading guilty to drug driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop, and driving without insurance.
Prosecuting the case, Deni Mathews told the court that at around 4:45pm on March 8 last year, officers were on routine patrol when they were informed that an Audi A3, which was being driven by Shaw, was flagged as not having the proper documents.
The police then began following Shaw along the A30, which he left at Tolvaddon. Officers could see that the passenger in the vehicle appeared to be looking behind to see if the police were still following.
Mr Mathews said Shaw accelerated but was still driving within the speed limit until he reached Illogan, where the speed dropped to 30mph but he remained driving at 60mph. Shaw was then seen to move through junctions without slowing down or looking, before going on to weave across both lanes.
A garden centre sign was crashed into and officers said Shaw “narrowly missed” a man riding a motorcycle. He then approached temporary traffic lights and drove through a red light before driving down the slip road to the A30 where he travelled along the wrong side of the road.
Police Sergeant Hawkings approached Shaw and as he left the A30, Sergeant Hawkings ended the pursuit by forcing Shaw’s Audi off the road with his own police vehicle. The pursuit then continued on foot and it was discovered that the passenger was no longer there as he had been let out of the vehicle.
Mr Mathews said Shaw was found hiding in a garden bush and immediately apologised to the police saying he was fearful of police but made it worse by trying to get away from them. Shaw also failed a roadside drugs test which found he had 2.9 micrograms of the controlled drug THC in his system.
Defending Shaw, Jon Holmes told the court that Shaw accepted his behaviour and pleaded guilty to the offences at the first opportunity. He added that Shaw had never been in court before and has “kept away from trouble” since.
In sentencing Shaw, Judge Simon Carr told Shaw that trying to evade police was the worst decision he could have made. He described Shaw’s actions as an “appalling piece of driving” and added that it was simply down to luck that no one was killed.
Shaw was sentenced to nine months in a young offenders institute and was disqualified from driving for 15 months with an additional four-and-a-half months from when he is in custody.
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