A dangerous driver terrified of going to prison was pepper sprayed by police following a high-speed chase through Aberdeen.
Sean Craig’s fear of jail was sparked by a threat against his life made by “well-connected” prisoners at HMP Grampian, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
When the 34-year-old disqualified driver was spotted behind the wheel of his girlfriend’s car by police he panicked and put his foot down.
The frightening pursuit followed, with Craig racing around blind bends on the wrong side of the road and through residential areas of the city.
After the car crashed, officers had to smash the window and use their PAVA spray to control and arrest Craig.
‘Deliberate act’
But the irritant spray was the least of Craig’s worries, as he went on to have “molten sugar” thrown at him while in prison.
Fiscal depute Lynne MacVicar told Aberdeen Sheriff Court officers on patrol on Back Hilton Road at 9.45pm on June 10 2021 spotted a black Citroen DS3 accelerate harshly then brake suddenly.
A check revealed the only person insured to drive the car was female, while the driver, who turned out to be Craig, was male.
But when officers activated their emergency equipment to signal the vehicle to stop, Craig “accelerated harshly” and a pursuit was declared.
Ms MacVicar said: “The accused drove at speeds of approximately 50mph in the 30mph speed limit on Ash-hill Drive, Cornhill Terrace, Ashgrove Road West and onto Westburn Drive.
‘In danger of serious injury’
“At the roundabout junction of Westburn Drive and Hilton Street, known locally as the Six Roads Roundabout, officers observed him drive around the roundabout the wrong way, against the regular flow of traffic, before continuing onto Hilton Street.
“Fortunately there was no other traffic on the roundabout at this time.”
Craig then continued at between 50mph and 60mph on Hilton Street and St Machar Drive while the area outside Aberdeen University was busy with students.
Turning onto School Road, where the speed limit drops to 20mph due to parked vehicles and residential homes, Craig reached 65mph.
At the end of School Road, Craig took a blind bend onto Golf Road while on the wrong side of the road, posing “a huge danger to potential road users coming the other way”.
Another blind, sharp right-hand bend was then tackled in the same fashion as Craig sped onto Park Road, driving straight through a red light at the blind junction with Urquhart Road.
Craig continued along Park Road and Park Street at 50mph in the 30mph zone before reaching Commerce Street.
At the junction with Virginia Street, traffic forced Craig to slow down but he moved onto the wrong side of the road into the path of an oncoming vehicle to get through the traffic light-controlled junction.
Craig continued onto Regent Quay where he ignored and sped through the give way junction with Trinity Quay at 40mph.
As Craig approached the traffic light junction between Trinity Quay and Market Street, all three lanes were occupied by stationary vehicles.
Craig initially slowed down before “accelerating into a small gap” between two of the cars, colliding with both of them and causing the Citroen to become “disabled”.
Police formed the opinion this was a “deliberate act” by Craig.
‘Very nasty injuries’
With the car stuck between the two other vehicles, officers approached and found Craig to be the driver with a second male in the passenger seat.
Craig was instructed to turn the engine off and open the doors, which were locked, but he did not comply, resulting in the windows of the car being smashed to afford police entry.
Ms MacVicar told the court: “A constable attempted to remove the keys from the vehicle, however the accused kept pushing his hand away and continued to rev the engine and attempt to put the car into gear, clearly attempting to drive off.”
With both officers sandwiched between the Citroen and the vehicles either side of it, Craig’s attempts to drive off put them “in danger of serious injury” so they deployed PAVA spray.
Checks then revealed Craig was also disqualified from driving at the time.
Craig’s partner’s car had minor front-end damage, but one of the wheels had “snapped off the axle” and was likely an insurance write-off.
The other two cars he crashed into were left with damage costing £1,428.82 and £1,198.38 respectively to repair.
‘You’ve got an awful record for driving offences’
Craig’s passenger was recorded on police body-worn camera saying Craig knew the police were behind him and “was not going to stop for police as he knew he would receive a custodial sentence”.
Craig, of Deevale Gardens, Aberdeen, pled guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance.
Defence agent Chris Maitland said his client, a father of three, had taken his partner’s car while she was away to “carry out personal errands”.
He added: “He shouldn’t have been driving. He accepts there’s no excuse.
“It’s accepted he wasn’t stopping for the police because he knew he’d end up in prison just for driving while disqualified, let alone anything else he did.
“That was not just the regular fear of a prison sentence, it was significantly increased by the fact he’d received an Osman warning from the police regarding danger to life.”
An Osman warning is a notice of a threat to life having been made.
Mr Maitland went on: “He knew the people named and that they were well connected in prison.”
The solicitor said that, during Craig’s time on remand, he was taken to hospital with “very nasty injuries” and “significant burns” and “molten sugar” was thrown at him.
Sheriff Ian Wallace told Craig: “You’ve got an awful record for driving offences and other offences.
“This was a very bad course of dangerous driving committed while you were disqualified.”
He jailed Craig for 345 days banned him from driving for six years and 320 days over the dangerous driving charge.
He also imposed a further nine months in jail for driving while disqualified.
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