Police release dramatic video footage of moment driver tactically pursued and contained after driving 140mph on M40
Police have released dramatic video footage of the moment a disqualified driver, 34-year-old Roman John Francis, was tactically pursued and contained by officers on the M40 in Warwickshire.
The incident started when Francis took a white VW Golf from a storage yard in Lutterworth without the owner’s permission sometime between midday Friday, 9the January and 5am on Sunday, 10th January 2021.
At just after 6am on Sunday, 10th January the Golf was seen by a marked police car on the M40 Junction 15 and officers began to follow it.
As the Golf rejoined the M40 motorway northbound the driver failed to stop again for officers when indicated and drove dangerously reaching speeds in excess of 140 mph on the motorway in foggy conditions.
The vehicle was followed into West Mercia Police area where it was tactically pursued and contained and the driver arrested who was the sole occupant of the vehicle. Francis provided a roadside breath specimen of 73micrograms when the limit is 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath.
Francis was sentenced to a total of 28 months imprisonment for a string of offences and banned from driving for 6 years and 2 months after appearing at Warwick Crown Court on 8th February 2021. The sentence consisted of 16 months for Dangerous Driving, 3 months for drink driving, 3 months for driving whilst disqualified and a further 6 months for aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving, making 28 months imprisonment in total.
He was also ordered to pay £190 victim surcharge and was banned from driving from his first court appearance on 11 January 2021 when he received an interim driving ban. At Warwick Crown Court he was banned from driving for 5 years with an extension of 14 months to 6 years and 2 months and will be required to take an extended driving test if he wants to start driving again.
Speaking about the sentence PS 0888 Tim Ivers said: “The actions of Roman John Francis not only put his own life in danger but the lives of innocent road users. Fortunately no one was injured, however the sentence reflects the seriousness of the offences and the potential serious harm that could have been caused.”
