Shocking footage shows drug-fuelled driver leading police on dangerous 130mph chase
23 July 2021, 14:14 | Updated: 23 July 2021, 14:19
Cocaine-fuelled driver in 550hp Bentley Continental tries (and fails) to escape police
Shocking footage shows how a man led police on a drug-fuelled 130mph pursuit in a sports car before being crashing.
Richard Bowser, of Bishop Auckland, performed high-risk manoeuvres as he tried to speed away from officers before colliding with a police vehicle.
He took what Durham Constabulary called a "vast quantity" of cocaine before getting into his 550-horsepower Bentley Continental GT.
Officers spotted Bowser, who was wanted on suspicion of assault, on the A68 towards Tow Law in County Durham, and gave chase.
He tried to get away at speed, reaching up to 130mph and attempting risky manoeuvres, whizzing past traffic and pedestrians at high speed.
One pursuing officer said they saw a young girl "watch in horror" as the car shot past her.
Bowser's chase came to an end when he tried to negotiate a bend in the road at 90mph but instead hit the kerb and smacked into a police car that was waiting ahead of the chase.
The moment was caught by a police volunteer photographer, the passenger of the vehicle, which showed how all four of the Bentley's wheels left the road just before it hit the police car.
Though Bowser, 44, tried to continue with the damage for about half a mile, he came to a stop at an industrial estate before fleeing on foot.
He was tasered in a nearby field and subsequently failed a roadside breath test and drug wipe.
Bowser was convicted of dangerous driving, drink driving and drug driving and was given an 18-month prison sentence at Durham Crown Court last week.
He was also banned from driving for 45 months and told to pay a victim surcharge of £156.
Inspector Ian Leach, of the Roads Policing Unit, said: "Bowser's actions were appalling, and his recklessness could so easily have had catastrophic consequences.
"He demonstrated a total disregard for the safety of others as soon as he got behind the wheel of his car under the influence of alcohol and cocaine.
"The outcome of this incident could have been fatal, and it is by sheer luck that those he crashed into escaped with only minor injuries.
"It takes far more than a high-performance vehicle to make a good driver, but Bowser's prison sentence and lengthy disqualification will nevertheless help to protect the public from harm."
