A danger driver who was handed an indefinite sentence after killing a mother and leaving her cousin and daughter badly injured has fled from an open prison.
Alan Paul Steel was high on drugs when he ploughed into three members of the same family on the Ford Estate in Sunderland in September 2006. The heroin user, who was 26 at the time, left all three lying in the road as he fled from the scene.
Paula Stead, 32, was mowed down and killed by Steel during the hit-and-run and her 10-year-old cousin Danica Green lost her leg. Paula's daughter Bridie also injured during the collision at the junction of St Luke’s Road and Front Street.
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Steel was later tracked down to a house in the city as part of a major police manhunt and he admitted causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop or report an accident, driving with no insurance and driving while disqualified. In January 2007, he was handed an indefinite sentence with a minimum of 13 years.
At around 1.15am on Tuesday morning, Steel absconded from HMP Sudbury, an open prison in Sudbury, Derbyshire.
Derbyshire Constabulary has issued an appeal in which they describe the 41-year-old as white, 6ft tall, clean shaven and with brown hair and green eyes. They have informed the general public that he has links to the Sunderland area.
A spokesperson for the force said: "Anyone who has seen Steel, or believes they know of his current location, is asked to contact the force using any of the below methods, including reference 22*311680."
Chronicle Live previously reported how Steel made applications for parole in 2011, 2013 and 2015 and was refused.
Anyone with information about Steel can contact Derbyshire Constabulary by calling them on 101 or completing the online contact form on their website https://www.derbyshire.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/
They can also send a a private message on Facebook to /DerbyshireConstabulary or a direct message on Twitter to their contact centre on @DerPolContact.
Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or by visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org. The force has reminded people that they should always call 999 in an emergency.
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