A young driver “panicked” and tried to outrun police leading a dangerous high-speed pursuit, a court has heard. Ethan Grant raced through multiple sets of red lights and drove on the wrong side of the road before eventually losing control and flipping his car.
Swansea Crown Court heard the 21-year-old defendant’s parents had seen the dashcam footage of their son’s driving on the night in question and were “truly mortified” by what he had done. A judge told Grant he was “lucky to be alive”.
Sian Cutter, prosecuting, told the court that at 9pm on November 10 this year a police officer in an unmarked car was heading into Swansea city centre along Mumbles Road and Oystermouth Road when his attention was drawn to a Seat Ibiza car travelling ahead of them which was driving in the right-hand lane of the dual carriageway even though the left lane was empty. As the officer continued to follow the Seat the vehicle began to increase its speed reaching around 45mph. At that point the police officer activated his car’s blue lights and Grant responded by speeding off.
Ethan Grant races through Swansea city centre pursued by an unmarked police car
(Image: CPS Cymru)
The court heard the Ibiza raced through a series of red traffic lights as it drove through the city centre heading for the Dyfatty junction and travelled on the wrong side of the road as Grant overtook a number of cars on New Cut Road at speeds estimated to have touched 60mph. At Dyfatty the defendant again ignored a red light and continued onto Llangyfelach Road. The prosecutor said due to the nature of Grant’s driving the pursuing officer dropped back but tried to keep the fleeing driver under observation.
Grant continued to speed away from the police through Brynhyfryd and on towards Treboeth, again overtaking vehicles and almost colliding with a number of oncoming cars. The court heard that at the mini-roundabout at the junction of Llangyfelach Road and Heol Gwyrosydd the defendant lost control of his Ibiza and slammed into a parked car – shunting it some 20 metres along the road – and then flipped his own car onto its side before it landed back on its wheels.
Grant got out of the car and police realised there was a second person in the Seat. The court heard the female in the passenger seat turned out to be Grant’s partner and was the registered keeper of the car. She suffered a slight tear to the bowel in the crash. The prosecutor said while police were at the scene they were approached by another motorist who was “visibly shaking” and said the Ibiza had almost forced her off the road.
The court heard that the parked car which Grant drove into had to be written off causing huge inconvenience for the owner who used the vehicle to get back and forth to work and when caring for their mother. In his police interview the defendant said he had driven away from the officer because he knew his licence had been revoked and he was not insured. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
Grant lost control of his car in Treboeth and slammed into a parked car
(Image: CPS Cymru)
Ethan Grant, of Llangranog Road, Llanishen, Cardiff, had previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving without a licence and driving without insurance when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions. The court heard the defendant’s licence had been revoked in September this year after amassing six penalty points as a new driver when he failed to give the details of who had been driving his car.
James Hartson, for Grant, said given the manner of the defendant’s driving it was fortunate he had made it to Treboeth alive and had not killed anyone else, his partner sat beside him in the car and the pursuing police included. He said Grant had “panicked” when he realised the police were behind him because he knew he did not have a licence nor insurance and drove off at speed, but said the reality was his client was never going to be able to outrun a highly-trained police officer. The barrister said the defendant ran his own fire and security alarm business which provided employment for others and said his client’s parents had seen the pursuit footage and were “truly mortified” at what their son had done.
Judge Huw Rees said it seemed on the day in question Grant had gone to Mumbles to take pictures of a job he had completed with a view to putting them on social media when he saw the police and “panicked” and committed the very serious offences before the court. The judge told him he was “a fool to himself” and he was “lucky to be alive”, telling Grant he must never drive in that way again. The judge said based on everything he had read and heard he was satisfied that the public interest requires that the defendant not go straight to prison.
With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Grant was sentenced to 10 months in prison suspended for 18 months and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and to do 200 hours of unpaid work in the community. He was also ordered to pay the owner of the car he wrote off some £350 in compensation. The defendant was banned from driving for two years and must pass an extended test before he can get his licence back.
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