A man who led police on a dangerous pursuit, reaching speeds of more than 100mph in a stolen vehicle, has been jailed.
Leo Meek (25) of no fixed abode, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, where he was sentenced to 22 months for dangerous driving and handling stolen goods.
He had previously pleaded guilty to the offences.
During the afternoon of July 19, 2023, an officer was in an unmarked police vehicle when he spotted a stolen white BWM, on Rivacre Road, Ellesmere Port.
As the officer caught up to the vehicle, the driver – later identified as Meek – turned and increased in speed and refused to stop, despite the police vehicle’s blue lights being activated.
The stolen BMW overtook multiple vehicles, tailgating them to force them to pull over, and picked up speeds of more than 100mph along winding narrow 40mph roads.
The officer rounded a corner to find the BMW had crashed on the bridge above the M53 and dented it, which prevented the vehicle from falling onto the motorway below.
The driver had already fled the scene, abandoning their front seat passenger.
There was extensive damage to the front end of the vehicle, which was confirmed to have been stolen the previous week from Manchester. Three sets of registration plates were stashed in the boot of the car.
Meek was confirmed as the driver after his DNA was recovered from the steering wheel airbag, which had been deployed in the crash. He was subsequently arrested and charged in relation to the incident.
Meek’s DNA was already registered on the Police National Computer System following a previous conviction in 2021 for death by dangerous driving. He had been speeding when he collided with a 15-year-old boy riding his bike in Merseyside. Meek failed to stop at the scene. The teenage victim died from his injuries.
On top of his latest sentence, Meek is disqualified from driving for 47 months.
PC Cooling said: “Despite already causing the death of an innocent teenager through reckless driving and speeding, Meek clearly had not learnt from this tragic incident.
“It is a miracle that no other collisions occurred as a result of Meek’s driving. He put innocent members of the public at risk, reaching alarming speeds in excess of 100mph and eventually losing control of the stolen vehicle.
“Thankfully the bridge barrier prevented the vehicle from falling onto the motorway below, but the damage to the car and the barrier shows just how dangerous Meek’s driving was.
“Even after the collision, Meek continued to try and evade police by fleeing the scene, showing no regard for the safety of his passenger. Just as he fled the scene after hitting the young cyclist in 2021, he again failed to stop and was only concerned with getting away.
“However, his efforts were to no avail. Thanks to DNA left on the airbag, officers from the Roads and Crime unit along with crime scene investigators confirmed Meek had been driving, tracked him down, and he is now behind bars for his actions.
“This highlights that there really is nowhere to hide – we will use every resource available to us to hold people to account. I hope this also serves as a reminder to those who commit crimes on Cheshire’s roads that you will be caught.”
