A mum drove 'appallingly' as she led police on a 90mph chase in her BMW with her two young children in the back, a court heard.
Tegan Bulley overtook an unmarked police car before racing off, bombing through red lights and accelerating up the wrong side of the road as officers gave chase, Wales Online reports.
She hit 70mph over speed bumps in residential streets and nearly lost control of the car. Bulley's two children were in the back of the car at the time and neither of them were secured in their child seats, a court was told.
READ MORE: Uninsured teenage driver led cops on 'appalling' high speed chase days after careless driving arrest
Police had to slow down and lost her. When the 29-year-old was eventually tracked down, she gave a false name to officers and claimed her white BMW 3 series had been stolen, before later pleading guilty to one charge of dangerous driving.
Bulley wept as she avoided an immediate prison sentence at Southampton Crown Court. Judge Brian Forster QC handed her an eight month sentence but suspended it for 15 months, before disqualifying her from driving for a year.
First spotted when overtaking police car
Siobhan Linsley, prosecuting, told the court police in an unmarked car first spotted Bulley speeding at about 7pm on a Friday evening in January last year, when she overtook them on the A336 on the outskirts of Southampton.
She said: "At the time the police car itself was going 40mph on a 40mph road - the maximum speed - when they were overtaken by a white BMW. The police accelerated to keep up with her and the vehicle was doing 50mph at that point."
After momentarily slowing down for a speed camera, Bulley 'again accelerated' and turned off the main road and into the town of Totton, heading towards the town centre at 40mph on 30mph roads.
Ms Linsley said the police 'began to suspect that she wouldn't stop' so turned on their blue lights and siren, which prompted the BMW to slow and the passenger door to open momentarily before speeding off again. The court heard police pursued Bulley through the 30mph residential area, as she pulled into other roads and T junctions 'without any hesitation'.
Ms Linsley said at one point Bulley, of Southampton, was driving at speeds of up to 70mph over speed bumps. Police continued to chase the BMW, which now reached speeds of 90mph, back to the A336, where Bulley drove through a red light and moved on to the wrong side of the road.
Ms Linsley said Bulley briefly pulled over and a man got out and ran off, before again 'pulling away, accelerating to 60 to 70mph on a 30mph road' and entering a roundabout on the wrong side of the road 'without stopping to check for traffic'. She added: "She was going so fast for the conditions that the back end of the BMW was spinning from side to side and the police officers got the impression that she very nearly lost control at that point."
Concerned that the BMW was not going to stop, police stopped chasing her and then searched for the car in a slower patrol afterwards. Police were pointed to the car and saw a woman nearby walking two young children in their nightwear but didn't stop them.
Ms Linsley said CCTV showed this woman exiting the car with the two children, proving all three were passengers during the high speed chase. The court heard the children were aged just five and eight and there were no child car seats in the BMW.
She then lied to police
About 40 minutes after police found the vehicle, a black BMW arrived at the scene with police still there. Bulley was sat in the back and gave a false name of Amy Greaves to the officers before admitting her real name. She denied driving the car and said she had just been at a party and was getting a lift home.
When interviewed by police, Bulley said she was 'at a friend's house when she realised her car keys had gone missing'. Asked why she initially gave a false name, she said she didn't want to be a 'grass'. Bulley then pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at her first court appearance.
Khalid Missouri, defending, told Southampton Crown Court: "This is an appalling level of driving and a very serious matter. She's a single mother who lives with two children who aren't straight-forward children."
Mr Missouri said Bulley suffered from anxiety, had since lost a job as a contact supervisor for children's services due to not now being able to drive, and is working part time as a waitress in a restaurant. He said at the time she was in a long term relationship which became 'quite controlling'.
Mr Missouri said: "That man was in the car with the two children. She didn't realise at the time but he was wanted by police. She attempted to stop but before she could he shouted at her to drive on and started to make threats about her children being taken away from her if she stopped."
Judge Forster QC, sentencing, said: "You caused considerable risk to members of the community. You drove on the wrong side of the road, you drove through a red light and in reality you were doing everything in your power to get away from the police.
"You had two children in the car aged five and eight, they were not restrained as they should have been. This is a very bad case of dangerous driving."
However, he decided to suspend the sentence because he deemed she was 'vulnerable' to the other man in the car who got out and ran off. She was ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work and 20 days with the probation service and also ordered to pay £10 a month for a year.
The judge added: "Please don't ever put yourself in this situation [again], because if you do you put yourself at risk of having to serve the prison sentence."
