Drug driver crashed into bus in Middlesbrough town centre

Stephen Harker was spotted driving the stolen Renault Megane around Middlesbrough before he sped away from pursuing police officers.

Teesside Crown Court heard how his dangerous driving came to an end when he smashed into a bus as he weaved his way through traffic on Borough towards the junction with Linthorpe Road.

When he was arrested by police following the crash on March 16 this year, he was discovered to be driving under the influence of cocaine and a derivative of the Class A drug.

Read next: Teenager denies murdering 'father figure' drug dealer with homemade 'slam-gun'

The victim impact statement from the owner of the car showed how the damage caused to it cost the family money in lost earnings and they had to turn to friends to raise £1,000 to buy a new one.

The judge heard how the 36-year-old was also charged with the attempted theft of car parked on Gresham Road, Middlesbrough in the early hours of April 4 and a theft from a motor vehicle on the same night when he stole a sat-nav from a taxi.

Harker, formerly of Redcar but now of Conference Road, Leeds, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking; dangerous driving; driving whilst disqualified; driving without insurance; two charges of driving under the influence of drugs; attempted theft of a motor vehicle; theft from a motor vehicle; and breach of a community order.

The court heard how the drug driver already had 67 convictions for 120 offences.

Stephen Harker (Image: Cleveland Police)

Nicci Horton, mitigating, said her client had a longstanding drug addiction which had blighted his life for many years and had let himself down when he committed these offences as he was attempting to tackle his drug problem.

Recorder Anthony Dunne sentenced Harker to a total of 18-months in custody for all offences.

He said: “You attempted to get away from a police car by driving at speed through busy residential streets and then through busy roads leading to Middlesbrough town centre.

Read more:

• Gang behind £1m drugs enterprise armed themselves with weapons to protect stash
• Tackling rural crime concerns top of PCC's agenda as problem grows
• Darlington drug dealer who used Bitcoin to import drugs from America is jailed

If you want to read more stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here

“That pursuit only ended when you crashed into a bus, which presumably was carrying passengers at the time and they were put at risk of injury by your actions.

“You were driving a car that had been stolen, you were under the influence of drugs and had been banned from driving for a number of years.

“The taking of the vehicle had a serious detrimental impact on the owner and his family.”

Harker was also banned from driving for two years and nine months and ordered to take an extended driving test before taking to the roads again.