Man sentenced for high-speed wrong-way chase with child in stolen car

Martin Stokes, 20, has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for a dangerous high-speed chase during which he drove a stolen Ford Mustang the wrong way down a dual carriageway with a 15-year-old in the car. Stokes also threatened to kill police officers and paramedics following his arrest.

The incident began on July 8 when drivers reported Stokes for dangerous driving on the M4 westbound. When officers attempted to pull him over, Stokes accelerated away in the stolen vehicle.

He navigated a roundabout near junction 15 outside Swindon against the flow of traffic, narrowly avoiding head-on collisions with pursuing police cars. Stokes then drove on the southbound carriageway of the A419 heading north for approximately 3.6 miles before exiting onto the A420. Dramatic footage captured by police showed numerous near-misses with oncoming traffic, including motorcyclists, cars, and lorries.

Police stated that Stokes put hundreds of lives at risk, including his own and that of the child in the vehicle. He repeatedly rammed police cars on the A420 in an attempt to evade capture before officers finally stopped his pursuit using tactical contact with their vehicles. The chase, which lasted at least seven minutes, covered several miles.

Upon his arrest, Stokes initially denied driving the car. After being taken into custody, he made threats to kill officers and paramedics. While en route to the hospital, he continued to make threats, including one about driving a jeep over an officer. He also attempted to break out of the police van.

At Swindon Crown Court, Stokes pleaded guilty to 13 offenses: dangerous driving, failing to stop, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage, driving whilst disqualified, four counts of threats to kill, using a vehicle without insurance, and two theft offenses. One theft involved stealing high-value items from a Go Outdoors shop in June.

In addition to his prison sentence, Stokes was disqualified from driving for six years and four months. Trainee Detective Constable Ben Greening of the Roads Policing Unit described Stokes' driving as some of the most dangerous he had witnessed and noted his continued aggressive behavior and threats after arrest. Greening emphasized that the sentence reflects the seriousness of the offenses and the significant danger Stokes posed to the public. He added that the outcome sends a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated.

The sentencing comes amid a series of incidents involving drivers traveling on the wrong side of motorways and dual carriageways in the UK. Earlier in August, two police officers and five young men died in a wrong-way crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough. In Ireland, five teenage boys were killed in a similar head-on collision on the M9 in County Kildare, which also left a family of four with serious injuries.