Watch moment driver rams police car and crashes into hedge during chase
Dash-cam footage shows the moment a speeding driver who rammed into a police car during a dramatic chase was caught after crashing into a bush.
Liam Bailey, 27, continued to put his foot down on the accelerator despite being stuck in a hedgerow and boxed in by cops following the pursuit in Retford near the Nottinghamshire Yorkshire border.
Shocking video captured him accelerating away from officers who had spotted his car's rear lights weren't working after he pulled out of a petrol station erratically. Before the chase ensued, Bailey had turned around and drove straight at the police car, which he only narrowly avoided hitting head on.
He then mounted a grass verge in Bolham Lane, Retford, before ramming into the officer's vehicle and speeding away at around 7.20pm on January 20. The reckless driver was tracked down 15 minutes later to nearby Babworth Road, where he continued to swerve across the road and drive at high speed.
He then failed to stop for armed response officers, before performing two dangerous U-turns on the A57 - pulling out in front of high-speed traffic. After twice failing to shake off police, he came to an abrupt stop when his car crashed and became lodged in the hedge on Old Coach Road.
Although he had nowhere to go, the wheels of Bailey's car were still spinning and his engine revving as he was pulled from the vehicle and arrested. He later went on to assault a police officer as he was being brought into custody.
Bailey pleaded guilty to of dangerous driving, driving without a licence, driving without the correct insurance and assaulting an emergency worker. He also admitted to charges of driving without due care and attention during a separate incident on the A43 in Broughton, Northants, on 14 January 2024.
He was also found guilty of three other offences in Northampton from November 2022 - burglary, theft from a motor vehicle and assaulting an emergency worker.
Bailey, of Kettering, Northants., was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (May 17). He was jailed for a total of 22 months and disqualified from driving for 18 months.
PC Haddon Smith, of Nottinghamshire Police's roads policing unit, said: "The way Bailey was driving that evening put everyone on the roads around him at risk - including our officers. After this was originally spotted by one of our officers, Bailey's response was incredibly dangerous as he drove at their car at speed.
"While he narrowly missed, he then rammed the police car to get away, before performing a series of dangerous manoeuvres in the minutes that followed. Even when he lost control and crashed into a hedge, Bailey continued to put his foot down on the accelerator to try and get away.
"We will robustly deal with dangerous individuals like this who have no regard for the roads and other members of the public. Thankfully, nobody was seriously injured in this incident, although that was only down to the skills of our drivers who were following him.
"We're pleased to see Bailey has now appeared in court and has been handed a custodial sentence for his actions."