Vauxhall driver crashes near Manchester Airport after evading police

Xavier Joseph has been sentenced after admitting to dangerous driving, using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance, and failing to stop when required to do so by a police constable.

It comes after the 23-year-old tried to escape the police, travelling at ‘grossly excessive’ speeds before crashing into another car.

At Chester Crown Court on Friday (July 19), prosecutor Michael Whitty explained that Joseph was spotted driving an uninsured black Vauxhall Astra along the M56 on March 7.

An officer in a marked police car followed the Astra before pulling the vehicle over.

As the officer approached Joseph’s window, he accelerated and drove off, heading towards Wilmslow.

During the following pursuit, Joseph twice went through red lights without breaking, eventually escaping the officer.

The police car, which was travelling at 110mph on a 50mph road, was not able to catch up to Joseph’s Astra.

The car was spotted near Manchester Airport, where Joseph had driven straight over a roundabout and into the side of a Ford Fiesta, pushing it off the carriageway.

The Fiesta ultimately had to be written off.

Mr Whitty, reading a statement on the victim’s behalf, said the incident had caused her 'stress and anxiety'.

He adds that it took her ‘a number of weeks’ before she felt comfortable driving again.

Former McDonald’s employee Joseph was arrested at the scene and has been held in custody ever since.

Xavier Joseph of Providence Lane in Hayes (Image: Cheshire Police)

Defending, Bob Sastry said his client had used his time in custody ‘wisely’, completing courses.

He added that Joseph, father to a two-year-old girl, made a ‘grave error’ and ‘is perhaps someone who is lacking in maturity’.

Taking into account his lack of previous convictions and guilty plea, Recorder Anthony O’Donohoe sentenced Joseph to 15 months, of which he must serve half before being released on licence.

He said: “This was a very bad piece of dangerous driving.

“You drove at grossly excessive speeds, resulting in a very serious collision.

“The car you hit was written off. It is simply a matter of good fortune that terrible injuries or worse were not caused."

Joseph, of Providence Lane in Hayes, will be disqualified for a further two years upon his release, at which point he will have to complete an extended re-test.