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Posted on the 4th February 2025 in PHTM News
MUM OF THREE WITH BABY IN CAR JAILED AFTER 60MPH POLICE CHASE ENDS IN TAXI CRASH
A 29-year-old mother has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after leading police on a dangerous chase, reaching speeds of 60mph, with her baby in the front seat.
Charlotte Shipley's reckless driving, which included running red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road, and mounting a pavement with a pedestrian nearby, culminated in a collision with a taxi.
The incident unfolded on the morning of December 18, 2023, just five days after Shipley appeared in court for drug-driving and driving without insurance.
Prosecutor Barry White told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court that officers first spotted Shipley driving a Volkswagen with her young child in the front passenger seat on Etruria Road, Hanley. "There was a pedestrian walking on the pavement she mounted," Mr White stated.
A subsequent drug test revealed Shipley had cannabis in her system.
Dashcam footage captured Shipley's dangerous manoeuvers as she sped through residential streets, forcing other drivers to take evasive action. She reached speeds of 50mph in a 30mph zone and, despite a No Entry sign, turned onto Wellesley Street from the Snow Hill roundabout, where she collided with the oncoming taxi.
Mitigating, Anis Ali acknowledged the seriousness of Shipley’s actions, conceding that the “prolonged period of dangerous driving crossed the custody threshold.” However, he pointed out that no significant damage or injuries resulted from the chase and asked Judge Trevor Meegan to consider a suspended sentence.
Judge Meegan refused, emphasising the severity of Shipley’s offences and her disregard for public safety.
“You contravened red lights, you drove over speed bumps creating a third lane for yourself, you forced your way past traffic, you mounted a pavement on which a pedestrian was present. At Cemetery Road you were doing 60mph in a 30mph limit,” the judge stated.
He also highlighted the “breathtaking disregard for the safety of [her] own child” as a particularly aggravating factor. “This was a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road. There was total disregard for the safety of other road users.
"You were impaired by drugs and were driving at speeds significantly over the limit,” Judge Meegan added.
He also noted Shipley’s prior convictions for driving offences, including a prior drug-driving charge just days before the chase.
In addition to the ten-month prison sentence, Shipley, from Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, was banned from driving for two years and five months and must pass an extended driving test before regaining her licence.
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