Crime
Dash cam wallop! Court jails A14 Cambridgeshire drug driver
Dash cam footage of the chase to nab a drug driver going the wrong way along the A14 in Cambridgeshire has been released by police.
Police officers twice used their patrol car to try and intervene.
The chase began when police started following Kevin Hands, 46, in the early hours of 5 April in Green End Road, Chesterton, a court heard.
They were alerted after noticing the MOT on his Vauxhall Insignia had expired.
Hands continued on to the A14 and the officers signalled for him to stop at the Bar Hill junction.
But he drove around the roundabout the wrong way before taking the turn for Northstowe and Longstanton.
Hands then reversed back onto the roundabout and joined the eastbound A14, but officers blocked him as he tried to drive the wrong way along the road and the pursuit continued on the correct side.
As Hands left the Girton Interchange on the A14 towards Histon, he tried to turn right towards the A428, the wrong way, so the officers used their car to push the Insignia into the central reservation.
Hands got out and ran before being captured on a nearby bridge and taken to hospital after claiming he had swallowed heroin and cocaine.
A blood test found he had cocaine and benzoylecgonine above the specified drug drive limit and further enquiries found he had no insurance or licence.
Last Wednesday, at Huntingdon Crown Court, Kevin Hands, of Thistle Green, Swavesey, was sentenced to one year in prison.
Hands had to stay in hospital for medical reasons but later did not comply with requests to attend a voluntary interview.
Officers arrested him at his home on 20 September after finding him hiding under a table.
They also found a small cannabis grow of four plants.
Last Wednesday, at Huntingdon Crown Court, Hands, of Thistle Green, Swavesey, was sentenced to one year in prison.
He had pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of cannabis, dangerous driving, making off without payment, driving with no insurance, driving with no licence and drug driving.
The making off without payment related to a theft of £131.42 of fuel from the BP station in Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge, on 2 April.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzgGuCUTBaA
He was also disqualified from driving for four years and six months and ordered to pay £156 in costs.
PC Jonathon Ward said: “Hands drove incredibly dangerously on the A14, all while under the influence of drugs.
“He was a danger to himself and other road users, so I am pleased he has now brought to justice.”
The sentencing comes as the force cracks down on those driving under the influence this Christmas.
This year the force is supporting a new national campaign by Sussex Police and Surrey Police calling on the public and friends of drink drivers to prevent, persuade and – as a last resort – report drink drivers to police this festive season.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s dedicated, confidential hotline: 0800 032 0845 is available 24/7, and gives people the chance to supply the police with information to help reduce the number of drink or drug drivers on the county’s roads.
For more information about drink or drug driving, the law and the dangers it can cause, visit the force’s dedicated drink driving web page.
Last Wednesday, at Huntingdon Crown Court, Kevin Hands, of Thistle Green, Swavesey, was sentenced to one year in prison.
