Horrifying moment drug driver speeds WRONG WAY down one of UK’s busiest dual-carriageways
Alarming footage captures the moment a drug driver[1] tears the wrong way down one of the UK’s busiest dual-carriageways at 125mph.
Thomas Garfitt, 28, even performs a dangerous handbrake turn on the A1 in the hair-raising footage.
It has been released by police[2] after Garfitt was jailed for 20 months on May 17 for dangerous driving, failing to provide a blood sample and driving whilst disqualified.
Sheffield Crown Court heard the driver “ignored a series of red lights, and drove in the path of oncoming vehicles” during the terrifying chase which lasted 27 minutes.
The footage, captured by a police helicopter, shows Garfitt narrowly avoid a crash on the A1 in South Yorkshire on April 25.
Police warn ‘do not approach’ burglar who ESCAPED prison van and fled on transport[3]
Footage captures the moment sped along the A1 in Yorkshire (
South Yorkshire Police / SWNS)
He speeds up the hard shoulder into oncoming traffic and suddenly pulls the U-turn onto the main carriageway, narrowly missing traffic coming the opposite way.
The court was told it was a “minor miracle” Garfitt’s driving had not resulted in “serious injury or harm”.
The pursuit started at 8pm on April 25 when Garfitt suddenly took off from suspicious officers who had stopped his car in Sheffield.
And after speeding through inner city roads, he reached the M1, where he weaved in and out of traffic while going almost twice the speed limit.
Thomas Garfitt even performed a dangerous handbrake turn on the wrong side of the road (
South Yorkshire Police / SWNS)
Six police vehicles and a helicopter were pursuing Garfitt when he headed the wrong way down the A1 dual carriageway, driving along the road’s hard shoulder.
He then went on to pull off an audacious handbrake urn in the middle of the road, after spotting a gap in the traffic, and returned the way he had just gone.
The lengthy chase ended when Garfitt eventually stopped his car and when police tested him, they found he was positive for cocaine.
The clip highlights the efforts criminals go to evade police action (
South Yorkshire Police / SWNS)
Garfitt, of Wincobank, Sheffield, was charged with dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and failure to provide a specimen. He pleaded guilty to the offences.
He was jailed for 20 months on May 17 and banned from driving for four years and 10 months.
Speaking after his sentencing, Acting Sergeant Joe Binley, from South Yorkshire Police[4], said he was pleased the dangerous driver had been sent to prison.
Garfitt will spend 20 months in jail (
South Yorkshire Police / SWNS)
He said: “We often find that drivers who fail to stop for us, usually as a routine stop are linked to greater criminality and will go to extreme lengths to avoid speaking to us.
“We want drivers like Garfitt who are willing to pose such a risk off our roads, and I am pleased he has been sentenced to time in prison for his actions.”
“Throughout a pursuit we are continuously monitoring the risks to the public, the risk to ourselves and the risk to the suspect.”