Driver hit 142mph on A66 as he made off from police, court told
A motorist who hit speeds topping 142mph on the A66 and told police he had been “scared” when finally stopped will be sentenced by a crown court judge.
Lee Robert Maughan, 25, appeared in front of Carlisle magistrates this morning.
Maughan admitted a charge of dangerous driving following a high-speed incident which unfolded near Penrith at around 2am on 19 September last year.
Police attention was initially drawn to the Mercedes Benz being driven by Maughan as he was travelling “erratically” while heading from the A686 at Carleton, on the outskirts of Penrith, towards Kemplay Bank roundabout.
An officer decided to follow with a view to logging the driver’s speed and speaking to him.
On the A66 eastbound close to Brougham Castle, Maughan accelerated to over 120mph initially before entering a single-carriageway stretch of the road where his speed was recorded at 138mph.
Despite police activating blue lights and a siren on their patrol car, a top speed of 142mph was logged for Maughan’s Mercedes on another dual carriageway section before he turned off the road on to the B6412 towards Temple Sowerby.
On a road with blind bends, Maughan crossed white lines and reached 80mph.
Prosecutor George Shelley told the court: “The officer stopped the vehicle with the defendant inside. He was the sole occupant and commented that he had been scared.”
Magistrates heard Maughan, of Asby Mill, Great Asby, near Appleby, was a man of previous good character.
But due to the seriousness of the offence, they sent his case to Carlisle Crown Court for sentencing. Maughan is due to appear in front of a judge on 7 November and was bailed in the meantime.
A probation service pre-sentence report was ordered and magistrates imposed an interim driving ban. The exact length of that mandatory ban will be determined when Maughan receives his punishment.
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