James Harty of The Street, High Roding, Dunmow, was jailed for 18 weeks when he appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 22 March after he pleaded guilty to failing to stop after a collision at an earlier hearing.

At around 8pm on 8 July last year, officers from our Operational Support Group were on routine patrol in Witham when they witnessed a speeding Mercedes drive past them in Braintree Road.

Officers indicated to the driver to stop, but it sped off colliding with a car in Cressing Road.

The Mercedes eventually came to a stop in Shaw Road when it struck a second car and the driver and passenger ran off, abandoning the car in the middle of the road.

Enquiries identified the driver as 36-year-old James Harty, who was arrested and charged with multiple road offences to appear at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on 9 February.

Roads Policing officer, PC Fiona Rayner who led the investigation, said: “James Harty continued to drive at speed despite knowing that he was being directed to stop by officers. He went through a red light, drove on the wrong side of keep left bollards several times and struck two vehicles in his effort to evade arrest.

“His disregard for the safety of others could have ended disastrously if he had collided with a pedestrian.”

James Harty pleaded guilty to failing to stop at the scene of an accident and was jailed for 18 weeks, disqualified from driving for 14 months and fined £154.

Three other charges were not given a separate penalty, but licence endorsed – failing to report an accident, driving without due care and failing to stop for police. 

Our Roads Policing Unit officers are dedicated to keeping the roads in Essex safe. 

They target offenders who demonstrate the Fatal Four offences – speeding, drink or drug driving, non-seatbelt wearing and being distracted by the use of a mobile whilst driving. Each one of the Fatal Four offences has been proven to contribute to serious and fatal collisions.

Our ambition is zero road deaths by 2040 and we continue to work with the Safer Essex Road Partnership to achieve that.