A man walked out of court after being banned from driving and jumped straight into his car before leading police on a 140mph chase from Harrogate.
Jason Ryder, 45, was so furious at being found guilty of drug-driving and losing his licence at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court in March that he got behind the wheel of his Audi A3 and raced from police at astonishing speeds while weaving in and out of traffic on the A1(M) and bombing down the hard shoulder at speeds of more than 130mph.
Dashcam footage of the hair-raising police chase was shown at York Crown Court today when Ryder appeared for sentence after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without a licence.
Prosecutor Edward Steele said that Ryder was released from the Harrogate court on March 20 after being convicted of driving under the influence of drugs in a previous incident near Knaresborough and receiving a 12-month motoring ban.
He said that Ryder got into his black Audi “immediately after being released from the court” at about midday.
Police switched on the blue lights, but Ryder didn’t stop and a 17-minute car chase ensued, firstly along the A658 John Metcalf Way in Harrogate where he overtook vehicles, causing motorists to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
He then “manoeuvred around” a heavy-goods vehicle and sped onto the A1(M)’s northbound carriageway, “moving across all lanes and travelling for long periods of time on the hard shoulder, at times at speeds of over 130mph in a 70mph zone”.
Mr Steele said that at certain sections, the Audi was travelling at over 140mph as it zig-zagged between dense traffic and overtook and undertook vehicles from one side of the road to the other.
You can watch police footage of the chase below.
Ryder then turned onto the A6055 towards Northallerton at 140mph on a wet road surface due to the rainy weather.
Mr Steele added:
“The driving included overtaking and driving on the opposite side of the carriageway.”
Police laid a stinger on the road which deflated the Audi’s tyres and the car came to a halt. He was arrested and brought before York magistrates the following day, where he pleaded guilty to all three offences.
The court heard that Ryder had a previous conviction for careless driving and failing to provide a specimen for analysis in 1998, for which he received an 18-month motoring ban.
‘Not thinking straight’
Defence barrister Gabrielle Wilks said that Ryder made a “split-second” decision to speed from police due to “heightened emotions” following the trial which went against him.
She said he was “not thinking straight” and was suffering from “mental angst” on the day in question due to personal problems.
Read more:
- Police use stinger after 140mph pursuit from Harrogate
- Audi driver pleads guilty after 140mph police pursuit in Harrogate
She added that Ryder, of Wellgarth, Bishop Auckland, had lost his full-time job and could lose his home if he were jailed.
Recorder Anthony Hawks described Ryder’s driving as “appalling” and said that he could easily have killed someone.
He told Ryder:
“The circumstances of the dangerous driving are…extremely serious, both as to how it started and the actual driving itself.
“I reject entirely the suggestion put forward (by Ryder’s defence counsel) that you didn’t understand the disqualification ran immediately. You had been disqualified before (and) you must have realised that following your conviction and sentence (for drug-driving) you were a disqualified driver.
“You had no business…in taking your car to the magistrates (court) in the first place.”
Mr Hawks said it was clear that Ryder was “angry” when he got behind the wheel because the trial “had gone against you”.
He added:
“At any time during the 17-minute police chase, you could have come to your senses and stopped, but you didn’t.
“The dangerous driving was appalling. There was heavy traffic. You were weaving all over lanes. You were driving at speeds up to 140mph. It’s extraordinary that nobody was seriously injured or killed.”
Ryder was jailed for 10 months and given a 23-month driving ban.
