KISS AND CELL
‘MAD PIECE OF DRIVING’ SPEEDER CRASHED INTO MERC
A MAN who was jailed for an ‘absolutely mad piece of driving’ stopped to kiss his girlfriend through the court glass before being led away in handcuffs.
Ryan Cook, 33, led police on a high-speed chase after he was spotted speeding by officers on duty in Ashton-under-Lyne, and failed to stop after they activated their emergency equipment on August 8 last year.
As a judge at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court jailed him for nine months, the defendant asked him: “Can I give my girlfriend a kiss at least?”
His partner then walked up to the glass of the dock and the couple kissed.
The court heard Cook had been driving back from the hospital, after his pregnant partner had been induced, when he came to the attention of police, and failed to stop. He weaved through traffic in the VW Golf, drove through multiple red lights, and at one stage reached 60mph in a 30mph zone. The pursuit only came to an end when the Golf ploughed into a silver Mercedes taxi. The driver, who was not working at the time, was dropping his son off at his friends, when they heard a loud bang. Fortunately, neither the driver nor his son were seriously injured, but the Merc was written off.
Cook attempted to flee following the crash but was arrested. Officers attempted to carry out a breathalyser test on him as they believed he was under the influence of alcohol, but he failed to provide a reading.
Cook was said to have 22 previous convictions for 45 offences including for driving matters, robbery and handling stolen goods. He was also jailed at Leeds Crown Court for communicating a false bomb hoax after he contacted the police to say he ‘had a bomb and he was going to explode it.’
John Richards, defending, said his client suffers from bipolar disorder, ADHD and schizophrenia. He said at the time his partner was pregnant and induced before being put into intensive care. Sentencing, the judge, Recorder Richard Pratt KC, said: “It’s almost inevitable that driving like that would result in a crash. The victim and his son were entirely innocent and were going about their own business and lawabiding lives. This was an absolutely mad piece of driving.”
Cook, of Hope Street, Ashtonunder-Lyne, was banned from driving for offences of dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen of breath and driving with no insurance.