Driver Sentenced for Deadly Wrong-Way Chase with Child in Stolen Car
Martin Stokes received over two years in prison for a high-speed pursuit where he drove against traffic and threatened police.
A man who led police on a perilous wrong-way chase down a dual carriageway in a stolen Ford Mustang, with a 15-year-old child in the car, has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. Martin Stokes, 20, pleaded guilty to 13 offenses, including dangerous driving, failing to stop, assaulting emergency workers, and making threats to kill.
The incident occurred on July 8 when drivers reported Stokes for dangerous driving on the M4 westbound. When officers attempted to pull him over, Stokes accelerated in the stolen Mustang. He narrowly avoided head-on collisions with police cars at a roundabout before entering the A419 northbound carriageway, traveling against the flow of traffic for approximately 3.6 miles.
Dramatic footage captured Stokes' terrifying near misses with oncoming vehicles, including motorcyclists, cars, and lorries. Police stated that his actions put hundreds of lives at risk, including his own and the child's.
Stokes continued to ram police cars on the A420 in an attempt to evade capture. The chase, which lasted at least seven minutes, concluded when officers used tactical contact to stop his vehicle. Upon his arrest, Stokes, who was bleeding from the face, denied driving and then proceeded to threaten officers and paramedics with death.
"You're lucky that driver didn't kill you, man," Stokes reportedly said, according to police. He later threatened to "drive a jeep straight over the top" of an officer and "kill him stone dead," also vowing to follow him home.
At Swindon Crown Court, Stokes admitted to dangerous driving, failing to stop, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage, driving while disqualified, four counts of threats to kill, using a vehicle without insurance, and two theft offenses. He was also disqualified from driving for six years and four months.
Trainee Detective Constable Ben Greening described Stokes' driving as among the most dangerous he had witnessed and condemned his aggressive behavior following his arrest. Greening emphasized that the sentence reflects the seriousness of the offenses and the significant danger Stokes posed to the community, stating that such behavior will not be tolerated.
This incident follows a series of dangerous wrong-way driving events on British roads. In late August, two police officers and five young men were killed in a head-on collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough. Earlier in August, five teenage boys died in a wrong-way crash on the M9 in County Kildare, which also left a family of four seriously injured.