"It's a miracle nobody was killed": Judge tells teenage mechanic who tried to outrun police before crashing

Police became suspicious of Cameron Stacey and tried to pull his blue Ford Fiesta over on Barnsley Road at Newmillerdam at 3.25pm on March 9 this year.

Dashcam footage screened at Leeds Crown Court showed the 19-year-old accelerating away from police after they activated their blue lights.

Reaching speeds of 50mph on the 30mph road, he was seen crossing onto the wrong side of the road to evade other vehicles and taking blind bends.

Approximately a minute into the chase, Stacey tried to turn sharply into a pub car park and collided with a vehicle waiting to pull out.

A stunned female passenger is seen exiting the passenger side of the Ford Fiesta, but Stacey ran off.

His DNA was matched from samples taken from the Fiesta's airbags which were deployed in the collision.

Despite this, he made no comments during a police interview.

Stacey, of Woolgreaves Avenue, Wakefield, admitted dangerous driving, refusing to stop, failing to stop after an accident and having no licence or insurance.

The court was told he had two previous convictions, for theft from a vehicle and aggravated vehicle taking.

Mitigating, Jessica Heggie, said Stacey did not take drugs or drink, and worked hard as a mechanic.

Referring to the incident she said: "It's relatively short and thankfully nobody was injured.

"He can't explain why he did not just stop the car, he said he was not thinking straight."

However, she was interrupted by Judge Tom Bayliss QC, who said: "He had no licence or insurance, that's why he did not stop."

Addressing Stacey, Judge Bayliss QC said: "You are only 19 but even at that age you have two previous convictions.

"It was a busy road, that's clear from the footage.

"It's not the excess of speed that's relevant, at one point you go onto the wrong side of the road and there's oncoming traffic.

"It's a miracle nobody was killed or seriously injured given the amount of traffic.

"You put all these people in great danger."

He jailed Stacey for four months and banned him from the road for two years.