Jail for dangerous drugged driver who failed to stop for police
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A dangerous and drugged driver who tried to evade arrest driving at more than twice the speed limit has been jailed for a year.
Philip Lee Raine, 32, of Manor Road, Knaresborough, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop for the police and three counts of drug driving.
Police became suspicious of Raine’s vehicle and indicated for him to stop as he travelled through Knaresborough in the early evening of 3 February 2024.
He failed to stop for officers and led them on a pursuit lasting 15 minutes during which he drove at twice the speed limit through built up areas, drove through red lights, mounted pavements, crossed solid white lines, forced other motorists to take evasive action, and collided with another car.
The pursuit came to a stop at the end of a cul-de-sac and following a short chase on foot, Raine was arrested. A test following his arrest showed cocaine, ketamine and benzoylecgonine in his blood stream.
Investigating officer, Traffic Constable Gary Dukes, of North Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group, said: “Raine’s shocking manner of driving was extremely dangerous, putting members of the public and himself at great risk of serious injury or worse.
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that North Yorkshire Police and the criminal justice system will not tolerate such appalling, life-threatening driving and it is right that he has been taken off the roads.
“Road safety is a priority for North Yorkshire Police and we’ll take robust action against anyone who puts the safety of members of the public at risk. Anyone who thinks they can evade arrest by driving dangerously needs to think again. We will use all our powers to remove them from the roads including the deployment of our highly-skilled pursuit-trained officers.”
Raine appeared at York Crown Court on 21 August where he was also disqualified from driving for three years and must pass an extended driving test.