Driver jailed after brake-checking police and causing A1 pile-up in 120mph chase

A personal trainer has been jailed for over a year after he caused a ‘catastrophic’ crash when he brake-checked police.

Mazyar Azarbonyad, 20, was pulled over in Wickham, Gateshead, in his BMW X5 for speeding in the early hours of April 9 while taking Courtney Redfern home after their first date.

But as a police officer approached the vehicle, he said ‘nah’ before speeding off.

The car was then spotted on Front Street, Whickham, and a second chase took place.

This time, he drove onto the A1 Denton Interchange in Newcastle.

He reached speeds in excess of 120mph with several police cars in pursuit before braking suddenly in the middle of the carriageway, causing a pile-up involving the cars behind him.

Prosecutor Jolyon Perks said that Courtney told him multiple times to stop, fearing that he may have killed someone.

Several police officers were trapped in the wreckage. Some were knocked unconscious, and many suffered varying degrees of injury. One was left with nerve damage in her back and soft tissue damage to her knee. Another needed stitches on his forehead.

Four of them have still not returned to duty.

Mr Perks said: ‘A number of these officers were trapped in vehicles. There were liquids involved, thankfully not petrol. A number of officers were rendered unconscious. It was clearly a very traumatic incident.’

Despite facing court action, Azarbonyad was back behind the wheel of his car just two days later, driving to work at a gym in Newcastle on April 11, 12 and 13.

Judge Tim Gittins told Azarbonyad during his sentencing hearing today: ‘It is nothing short of a miracle that no one was more seriously injured or that there were not multiple fatalities.’

Azarbonyad, who moved to the UK from Iran when he was 14, only had a provisional licence and had only had three driving lessons.

He claimed that he sped off because his passenger Courtney said she had drugs on her and he panicked.

Judge Gittins said: ‘Whether or not you were made aware of the small amount of cannabis in her possession, I am satisfied you made a deliberate decision to make off substantially because of your unlawful driving position.

‘You should have been nowhere near the driving seat of any vehicle that night, let alone one such as a BMW X5, a large and powerful SUV.’

Superintendent Billy Mulligan said: ‘What should have been a simple stop turned into him driving incredibly dangerously in a bid to get away from officers.

‘He showed absolutely zero regard for the safety of anyone else that morning, and his decision-making behind the wheel put lives at risk.’

Azarbonyad was sentenced to 14 months detention at a young offenders’ institution.

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