Plymouth man jailed and disqualified from driving following police chase
Charlie Powell, 23, from Plymouth was caught speeding at 122mph on the A30 in Bodmin in June 2020
A Plymouth man has been jailed and disqualified from driving for two years after he was caught driving at speeds of 122mph in Cornwalll
Devon and Cornwall Police has released dashcam footage of a police chase shows the disqualified and uninsured drug-driver, 23-year-old Charlie Powell from Plymouth, swerving across a busy road.
The car, a blue Honda Civic, driven by Powell, lead police on a 15-mile pursuit on the A30 between Carland Cross and Bodmin on June 18, 2020.
The road was wet and officers said Powell’s “aggressive and very dangerous” driving nearly led to collisions with other vehicles on the road.
The car was first spotted by officers travelling eastbound on the A30 near Carland Cross at around 70mph.
Police followed the car which initially appeared to be pulling into a layby to stop. However, Powell’s vehicle then sped up and drove out of the layby and back onto the A30.
The officers pursued the car which went on to hit speeds of over 120mph with Powell narrowly avoiding other cars on the road and nearly losing control of the vehicle.
Powell’s car was eventually stopped after police deployed a stinger and used tactical contact to force the vehicle off the road at Launceston Road in Bodmin.
He was arrested and subsequently charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving whilst disqualified, drug driving and driving without insurance.
He pleaded guilty to all charges at Truro Crown Court on January 8, 2021 where he was sentenced to 9 months imprisonment (suspended for 2 years) and disqualified from driving for 2 years, after which he will have to take an extended test.
“Devon and Cornwall Police have made the decision to release this video, to allow the public to see that we have a highly trained Alliance Roads Policing Team that will not tolerate criminality on our roads.
“While our main focus is always to prevent a pursuit from occurring, in dynamic situations like this we will use all of our training to react accordingly, and achieve a safe resolution while bringing offenders to justice.”
Sgt Steven Hawkins of the Alliance Roads Policing Team