Driver jailed over police chase that ended in a crash

A police pursuit that began in Kibworth and ended in a car crash in Wigston which left two people seriously injured has resulted in a prison sentence for a car driver.

Lewis Folwell (21) was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison when he appeared in court on charges relating to the incident, which happened in January last year.

Folwell, of Her Majesty’s Prison, Lincoln, pleaded guilty in January this year to dangerous driving, driving without insurance and failing to stop for police.

He also pleaded guilty in March this year to a charge of possession with intent to supply cannabis.

He was sentenced to a total of 33 months in prison last week by a judge at Leicester Crown Court.

Folwell was also banned from driving for five years.

Folwell had been driving a BMW car through Kibworth in the early hours of Tuesday, January 12, 2016, when he was instructed to halt by a police patrol car.

Instead of stopping, he drove off at speed, and an authorised police pursuit was carried out.

Police chased Folwell and three passengers who were also in the car, about seven miles north-west from Kibworth to suburban Wigston.

It was there, with police close behind him, that Folwell lost control of the uninsured BMW.

He crashed it into some railings at the side of the road on the B582 at Bushloe End, Wigston - but he still didn’t give himself up.

He ran from the scene along with another passenger, leaving two of his friends seriously injured and trapped in the back of the car he had been driving.

The two injured rear seat passengers were taken to the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham.

A 17-year-old man was treated for head injuries while a 21-year-old man received treatment for injuries to his legs.

Detective Constable Seamus Burns from the force’s serious collision investigation unit said Folwell had been lucky that one of his own friends did not die in the crash.

DC Burns said: “Folwell had no regards for his own safety, those in his car and other road users.

“He drove dangerously and although his two passengers received serious injuries, they are very lucky they didn’t lose their lives.”

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