Banned motorist dived from moving Mazda that rolled down Leeds hill and injured 4x4 driver

The hired Mazda picked up speed as it rolled down Meanwood Road, before colliding with the Kia Sportage.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Liam Town was already banned from the road for dangerous driving.

He was jailed this week after he admitted another charge of dangerous driving, driving without a licence and without insurance.

Prosecutor Laura McBride said officers were alerted to a Mazda CX5 being driven by a banned motorist on the morning of October 29 last year.

They spotted the Mazda at around 11.30am on Clay Pit Lane, so began to follow it through the Little London area.

But the 33-year-old then jumped from the vehicle while it was still moving and at the stop of a steep hill.

It then gathered momentum before smashing into the white 4x4. Town continued to run but was detained at the bottom of the hill.

The female driver suffered concussion and whiplash and had to be taken to hospital. The cost of the damage to the vehicles came to £10,000.

The court heard that Town had received a jail sentence and a three-and-a-half-year ban in 2021 for dangerous driving and having no licence.

He had reached 100mph as he weaved around traffic on the M62 while being pursued by police, whom he tried to ram.

He would have only been eligible to have his licence returned later this month, but only after he had passed an extended driving test.

Town, of Carrholm Road, Chapeltown, has 33 previous convictions for 66 offences.

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Mitigating, Anastasis Tasou said that his latest dangerous-driving offence related to him jumping from the vehicle, rather than speeding away from police.

He added: “The consequential effects were dire for the driver of the other vehicle, but thankfully not overwhelmingly so.”

He said that Town’s friend had leased the vehicle from Enterprise, but had been drinking all night and the car needed to be returned, so Town offered.

He conceded that was a series of mistakes made by Town.

The judge, Recorder David Gordon told Town: “You performed an obviously highly-dangerous manoeuvre.

“You must have known the police were behind you and chasing you. It’s the very reason you bailed out of the car.”

He acknowledged that he had recently been diagnosed with ADHD but said: “It may have had some effect but it can hardly explain why you behaved in such an outrageous way.”

He jailed him for 14 months and banned him from driving for another 43 months. He will have to take an extended re-test to get his licence back.