Stolen Land Rover ploughs through field before hitting car, killing driver
Police helicopter footage captured the moment a stolen Land Rover ploughed through a 6ft high maize field to try to evade officers, before returning to the road and causing a fatal crash. Marcin Jablonski, who was behind the wheel of the stolen vehicle, was over the legal drink-drive limit when he smashed into a Nissan Juke on the A143 at Earsham, Norfolk Police said.
The driver of the Nissan, 28-year-old Aisatou Mballow-Baldeh, died at the scene on August 13 last year. Jablonski, 44, and his 26-year-old son, Thomaz Urbaniak, who was a passenger in the vehicle, were both jailed over their roles in the incident when they were sentenced at Norwich Crown Court on Monday, Norfolk Police said.
In video footage from the National Police Air Service, an unmarked police vehicle tries to stop the Land Rover, before two marked units arrive and the Land Rover drives off into a field, flattening the crops as it goes. “It’s a fail to stop, he’s bullied his way around the unmarked,” an officer says over the radio, communicating to units on the ground. He’s pushing forward, he’s into the crops.
“I suggest you don’t follow him through this field as he’s got better capability than you have, I think.” When the Land Rover re-emerges onto the A143, the officer says: “It’s not high speed, I think he may have taken some damage, it’s quite slow.”
The officer adds: “He’s on to the grass, I think he’s got steering problems,” before the stolen Land Rover starts to weave across the centre line of the road and then veers into the path of the oncoming Nissan. “Crash, crash, crash, can we have an ambulance please,” the officer says.
Marcin Jablonski been jailed for 11 years, after a stolen Land Rover ploughed through a 6ft high maize field to try to evade officers, before returning to the road and causing a fatal crash (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)
Jablonski, of Mutfordwood Lane, Carlton Colville, Suffolk, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Norwich Crown Court to causing death by dangerous driving, Norfolk Police said. He also admitted causing death while driving without insurance and while disqualified, aggravated vehicle-taking and criminal damage.
He was jailed for 11 years over the incident, plus a further one year for an unrelated previous offence for which he originally received a suspended sentence, the force said. He was banned from driving for 13 years.
Urbaniak, of All Saints Road, Newmarket, Suffolk, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing at Norwich Crown Court to aggravated vehicle-taking and burglary. He was jailed for two years and banned from driving for two years, Norfolk Police said.
The force said the stolen Land Rover Defender had failed to stop for police earlier in the day and was being pursued by police and the National Police Air Service along the A143 before the fatal collision. Analysis of Jablonski’s urine showed he was over the legal drink-drive limit, with a range of between 273 and 461 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine when the legal drink-drive limit is 107 milligrams.
During the investigation, detectives discovered that the keys to the Land Rover had been stolen during a burglary at a flooring business in Newmarket in the early hours of August 11 last year, together with jewellery, handbags, alcohol, and a computer terminal.
Forensic analysis of the burglary scene confirmed Urbaniak’s DNA on a kitchen window – the point of entry for the burglary. CCTV footage showed one of the suspects dressed in black shorts and a hooded top, and wearing a distinctive pair of gloves with a strap across the back of the hand.
Urbaniak was dressed in the same clothes immediately following the fatal collision. Keys to a lorry linked to the burglary were also found in the pocket of Urbaniak’s hooded top.
Police believe that Jablonski and Urbaniak returned to the burglary scene with the stolen Land Rover Defender keys sometime on August 13 with the intention of stealing the vehicle. Once they had the vehicle, they travelled along the A143.
An examination of the Land Rover found the vehicle has suffered extensive damage before the collision – damage so significant that it led to a complete and catastrophic failure of the vehicle’s offside front steering and inbuilt computer.
Detective Inspector David McCormack, of Norfolk Police, who led the investigation, said: “It’s impossible to put into words the truly awful impact of this tragedy, and our thoughts remain with Mrs Mballow-Baldeh’s husband, family, and friends.” The incident was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, as is standard procedure. The IOPC is carrying out an independent investigation into the incident.