Grandfather reaches 125mph on North Tyneside road, rammed by police six times

Kenneth Davison, 61, led officers on a six-minute pursuit along the Coast Road after calling 999 to threaten carnage. He was sentenced to a 14-month suspended term.

Newcastle grandfather drove at 125mph after threatening carnage on A1058

Kenneth Davison, 61, telephoned police at 8am on Wednesday 9 April this year and told a 999 call handler he was "Mad Kenny" — before threatening to drive at high speed along the A1058 Coast Road in North Tyneside and cause carnage, the Daily Express reports.

Davison said he was going to "go bang" and reach 160mph. He also told the handler he would "end it all" and asked for the road to be closed so other drivers would not be hurt. Officers were dispatched immediately after he gave police details of his Audi S3 and its registration number.

Pursuit along the Coast Road

The A1058, known locally as the Coast Road, runs eight miles from Jesmond in Newcastle upon Tyne east to Tynemouth on the coast. At 8am on a weekday it carries heavy commuter traffic.

One officer spotted the Audi near Battle Hill with its hazard lights flashing. Davison was weaving between lanes, forcing other motorists to slow to avoid him. The officer began pursuing and made initial tactical contact with the vehicle, but the manoeuvre had no effect.

Davison failed to stop and continued at more than 100mph in a 50mph zone. He then began braking heavily and the car started emitting large clouds of smoke, reducing visibility for pursuing officers and other road users.

Police made tactical contact a second time. Davison responded by making hand gestures through his window before accelerating to an estimated 125mph. As he approached a roundabout he drove through traffic waiting at a red light, striking a car belonging to a doctor travelling to work at hospital. The pursuing police car sustained heavy damage in the contact and was taken out of service; the officer suffered pain to his hand and shoulder.

Wrong-side driving and a third officer joins

A second police car took up the pursuit as Davison drove on the wrong side of the Coast Road at around 120mph. He mounted a grass verge at the Silverlink slip road and passed a queue of stationary traffic. As he neared the A19 turn-off, another officer attempted tactical contact — again without success.

A third officer joined the pursuit and positioned his car in an attempt to block Davison from joining the A19. Further tactical contact was made but Davison drove off once more, heading back onto the Coast Road in a heavily damaged vehicle.

The six-minute pursuit ended when Davison crashed just past the Battle Hill slip road. His Audi came to rest wedged over a crash barrier, with severe front-end damage and deployed airbags.

Vodka bottle, cocaine claim and suicidal intent

Officers found an empty vodka bottle in the car. Davison appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs: there was a strong smell of alcohol, he was grinding his teeth, had white residue around his lips and appeared to be experiencing hallucinations. He told police he had taken cocaine.

During a subsequent police interview, Davison said he had intended to end his life. He believed he was about to be sacked by his employer and had wanted officers to help him die.

Court outcome

Davison, from Newcastle, has 17 previous convictions. At court he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to provide a specimen.

Judge Penny Moreland sentenced him to 14 months suspended for 18 months, with 150 hours of unpaid work, an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement for 120 days and a 30-month driving ban.

Moreland told Davison he had driven at "enormous speed," adding: "This was 8am at a time when the Coast Road was busy with people driving to work. A number of people must have been frightened of you and inconvenienced by what you did. You had an utter disregard for the risk of danger to others."

Defence solicitor Jennifer Coxon noted that Davison has children and grandchildren. "It was an awful incident of dangerous driving," she said, "and he is lucky he didn't hurt somebody else or himself." The court heard Davison had been suffering from an "adjustment disorder" linked to difficulties he had been experiencing at work.

Source: Daily Express