THIS if the terrifying moment a learner driver led traffic cops on a 136MPH chase – which ended with his car engine blowing up.
Leon Lloyd, 23, had only just picked up his second-hand Subaru Impreza when he was pulled over by police for having no insurance.
The moment the speeding car’s engine blows after topping 136mph[/caption]
Lloyd looked as if he was going to come to a stop in a layby – but instead he floored it again and led police on a high speed pursuit.
At one point, the youngster hit dizzying speeds of more than 136mph before the car, which he had only just bought from Bude, Cornwall, blew up.
Plumes of white smoke billowed from the exhaust of the green estate car, leaving police to close up the gap and arrest the wayward driver.
The Subaru covered nine miles between South Molton and Tiverton on the A361, heading towards the defendant’s home in Merseyside.
He covered the distance in just four and a half minutes, meaning his average speed during the chase was 120 mph on a 60 mph road.
A dashcam in the police car showed him crossing double white lines, going round a roundabout without stopping, and weaving between traffic.
The car went so fast that police lost sight of it twice before the footage showed smoke billowing from the blown engine.
The cop car’s dashcam showed the dizzying speeds the unqualified driver reached[/caption]
The pursuit occurred at 3.50 pm on a Saturday afternoon in July when the road was busy with families going to and from North Devon’s beaches.
Lloyd only had a provisional licence and had volunteered to help a friend drive the Subaru back to Skelmersdale, West Lancashire.
There were two other people inside the car who had both been begging him to slow down during the pursuit.
Lloyd admitted dangerous driving and driving with no insurance or licence when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court in Devon.
Mr Nigel Wraith, prosecuting, said the police tried to stop the 51 plate Subaru on Saturday July 20 this year.
He said: “The police were surprised the Subaru could go that fast, and in fact its engine blew up. There was no insurance and Lloyd only had a provisional licence.”
Jailing Lloyd for eight months, Judge Timothy Rose said: “There is no way you could have a vehicle travelling at that speed under control.
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“There were dozens and dozens of vehicles coming towards you. One slight hiccup with the steering wheel would have caused a collision with possible multiple fatalities.
“The driving in this case was shockingly dangerous. There was a period when the police were driving at more than 135 mph and making no progress.
“This was a sustained and prolonged period in which you drove with complete disregard for road marking, speed limits and the safety of other drivers.”
Lloyd was jailed for eight months and banned from driving for three years.
