A "drugged-up lorry driver" from Durham crashed into an unmarked police car on the A38 in Derbyshire, police have said.
Simon Storey, a 41-year-old trucker from Tees Crescent in Stanley, was yesterday found guilty of driving whilst over the specified limit for a specified drug and driving without due care and attention. A Derbyshire Police Sergeant involved in the collision a broken elbow, broken ribs and muscle damage. Storey was sentenced to 12 weeks' imprisonment suspended for 12 months, and given a 12 month driving ban as well as a curfew of 7pm to 7am for six weeks, an £85 victim surcharge and £128 in costs.
The incident that happened near Mickleover saw Storey pull right in front of the Audi police car as it looked to overtake him while the officers were responding to a 999 call with the vehicle's siren on. His actions made a crash unavoidable, according to the police officers concerned and, following the impact, the car travelled on its side for more than 100 metres before coming to rest in a badly-mangled condition.
Continuing on the northbound carriageway, Storey parked up out of view and rang his boss to ask what he should do. In the meantime, other motorists came to the officers' aid, including one driver whose car bonnet had been struck by the police car's nearside wheel.
The driver - a police constable - was pulled out through the windscreen and suffered minor visible injuries, but the passenger - a Sergeant who had only been with the Roads Policing Unit for two days - was cut out of the vehicle by the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service and sustained the afore-mentioned, more serious injuries.
While interviewed, Storey admitted that he had been smoking cannabis earlier in the day and that he did every day before driving. The forensic collision investigators also calculated that the police car would have been in his mirrors' view for around 15 seconds from at least 557 metres away.
The crash happened in November and Storey was sentenced at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court. A civil claim for the written-off car and injuries is in progress.
Commenting on the incident, a Derbyshire Police spokesperson said in a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon: "It's not often we will post photographs of our unmarked cars with the number plates on show, but unfortunately for us, this was our lovely Audi's last blue light run back on 16th November last year. It was very nearly two of our officers' last blue light run too when a drugged up lorry driver pulled out on us on the A38 near Mickleover.
"Yesterday on 23rd March 2022 at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court, Simon Storey, 41 of Tees Crescent, Stanley, Durham, was found guilty of driving whilst over the specified limit for a specified drug and driving without due care and attention. There's a choice to made - be a drug user OR a driver. The two do not mix."
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