Driver jailed following road crime team pursuit

A driver who abandoned a stolen vehicle in Stafford following a police pursuit has been jailed.

Matthew Mark Stevens, 24, from Bentilee, was behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Crossland when he failed to stop for officers from our road crime team (RCT) on the A34 between Stone and Stafford on Wednesday 25 June this year.

Stevens drove down rural lanes and made an abrupt U-turn on a farm track before driving off-road to evade police vehicles.

The Vauxhall was pursued onto the A51 where it turned left towards Stone before going right onto Hilderstone Road.

After travelling for around two miles at more than 80mph and dangerously overtaking other vehicles it collided with the side of an Audi Q3, causing the airbags to deploy and extensive damage to both cars.

Thankfully, the female driver of the Audi did not suffer life threatening or life-changing injuries.

Stevens and a single passenger in the Crossland left the vehicle and ran off across farmland.

A blue jacket and mobile phone recovered from a hedgerow near to the last sighting of the suspects and positive identification by our officers meant Stevens was later arrested and charged.

He was jailed for 19 months at Stoke-on-Trent-Crown Court on Tuesday (28 October) after pleading guilty to driving a vehicle dangerously, driving whilst disqualified and aggravated vehicle taking.

PC Thomas Cordall, from our RCT, said: “We welcome this sentence. Not only did Stevens fail to stop for our officers, he drove at dangerous speeds, carried out dangerous manoeuvres that meant other motorists had to take evasive action, crashed and then ran off to avoid justice. All this after taking a vehicle without consent."