He was also found in possession of Class B drugs
A 19-year-old man has been jailed after stealing a car and crashing into an ambulance following a high-speed chase near Gillingham. On Friday, August 29, Harry Foster-Smith was driving a Volkswagen Golf that he had taken without permission from London earlier that day.
Officers were alerted to the vehicle that evening as it travelled on the M2 coastbound between J2, near Rochester, and J3, for Chatham and Maidstone. A pursuit began and Foster-Smith refused to stop, reaching speeds in excess of 100mph before leaving the motorway at J4 for Gillingham, where officers lost sight of the car.
Shortly after, the stolen car crashed into an ambulance on an emergency call at the roundabout connecting the slip road with the A278 Hoath Way. Two paramedics inside the ambulance were injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
Foster-Smith fled the scene but officers employed the use of drones and police dogs to locate him in a nearby woodland where he was arrested. He was also found to have a quantity of class B drugs on him when he was searched.
The young man, of Brunswick Street, Bexleyheath, was charged with:
- Dangerous driving
- Causing serious injury by dangerous driving
- Using a motor vehicle on a road/public place without third-party insurance
- Possession of a class B drug
- Aggravated vehicle taking
- Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence
He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and, on Tuesday (December 2), was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court to two years and eight months’ imprisonment. He also had his licence revoked for three years.
Investigating officer Police Constable Lily Woodham said: “Foster-Smith’s actions that day were an appalling act of recklessness and put lives at risk. I hope this sentence sends a clear message that such behaviour will not be tolerated and those who endanger others will face serious consequences.”
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