A dangerous driver has been jailed for nearly three years after he dragged a police officer along a dual carriageway.
Motorist Marlon Joao was pulled over by PC Joanna Halewood for driving the wrong way down the A road - and blamed his Sat Nav.
But as PC Halewood reached inside the Vauxhall Insignia to try to remove its keys when she noticed Joao was about to flee, he grabbed hold of her arm and raced off.
PC Halewood screamed as she was dragged along the side of the vehicle, experiencing 'absolute terror' and fearing she would 'never see her children's faces again'.
The Wiltshire Police officer suffered a broken ankle and the incident has had an 'enormous' impact on her personally and professionally.
"I have never been so frightened in my life," she said.
Now 40-year-old business owner Joao has been jailed for 32 months after a judge condemned him for using a car as a 'highly dangerous weapon'.
Salisbury Crown Court, Wilts, heard father of two Joao drove the wrong way down the A419 in Swindon, also Wilts, on April 26 this year while PC Halewood was working a 9pm to 7am shift.
Prosecutor Richard Tutt said: "At about 12.30am, half past midnight, she was travelling northbound on the A419 and noticed bright head lights coming towards her.
"She flashed once to suggest to the other driver to dim their lights, the other driver did that and at that point she realised he was on the other side of the carriageway going the wrong way.
"As the police car got closer it became clear the driver was trying to do a three point turn and turn around on the A419."
The court heard PC Halewood pulled her car in front of the driver and told him to get out of the car.
She asked him what he was doing and he explained he had taken a wrong turn, blaming the directions from his Sat Nav.
Video shown in court then showed Joao get back into his car and turn the engine on, to which PC Halewood shouted to leave the engine off and tried to take the key out of the ignition.
Mr Tutt said there was a 'degree of tussling' and Joao grabbed the officer's arm before driving forward 'at some speed'.
PC Halewood was dragged along a 'short distance' while she screamed 'let go' and eventually fell into the road, inches away from the wheels of the car.
She can then be heard breathing heavily on the footage and saying 'I can't breathe'.
PC Halewood said: "I genuinely thought I was going to be killed.
"I have been in situations where I have been concerned for my safety before but not like this.
"I should be able to go home after a shift but he nearly made it so that I couldn't and my kids would be without a mother.
"I was very sure that I was likely going to be killed, that I would go under the tires or be dragged along at high speed.
"I had no way of escaping and felt absolute terror.
"I remember thinking I will never see my children's faces again. I have never been so frightened in my life."
Mr Tutt said PC Halewood has been restricted to desk duty at home after suffering a broken ankle and her foot has been in a medical boot for nine weeks.
The court heard how Joao, of Eynsham, near Oxford, sped off from the scene and hit speeds of up to 110mph in his 2011-plate Vauxhall Insignia, which can reach speeds of 130mph.
He drove the wrong way around a roundabout, smashed through cones and forced other drivers to take cover as he bombed through Swindon, narrowly avoiding a head on crash with an unmarked police car.
Joao was clocked at 80mph a short time later on the 50mph Marlborough Road in Swindon. The police chase came to an end after he drove into a dead-end on an industrial estate.
Mr Tutt said Joao told police he was sorry, before giving them a prepared statement which said: "Last night I was stopped by police after I had taken a wrong turn. I was out of the vehicle and panicked.
"I was totally unaware that there was a police officer hanging on to my vehicle, I had no intention of hurting any person."
The court heard Joao had previous convictions for assault, battery and drunk driving, after he attacked members of the public who tried to stop him getting behind the wheel drunk in 2019.
Matthew Pardoe, defending, said Joao suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and this caused him to panic when he was stopped by police.
Mr Pardoe said his wife was on the phone to Joao at the time of the incident and it was her who managed to get him to calm down and stop so the police could arrest him.
Joao also said: "I am truly sorry for my actions this time around. I'm so disappointed in myself. I understand how my actions have had a devastating impact not only on the victims, who I'm truly sorry for, but to my children and family who I have let down."
Recorder Hannah Willocks QC, sentencing him to 32 months in prison, said PC Halewood was 'understandably terrified'.
Recorder Willocks QC said: "I do view that the car was used as a weapon, a highly dangerous one.
"It's very fortunate that PC Halewood's injuries were not more severe than they were.
"I accept that your PTSD resulted in you panicking and this was impulsive, this was not a pre-meditated assault.
"But I find the only sentence I can pass is a custodial one."
Joao admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving, and driving without insurance and a licence.
He will also be disqualified from driving for 28 months.
