A MAN has been jailed after he drove so dangerously he put other motorists at risk and sped away from police skipping three red lights as he drove from Trinity to town before abandoning his car.
Daniel Huidan (38) appeared in the Royal Court yesterday to be sentenced for one count of dangerous driving, one of failing to stop for a police officer, and one of failing to provide a breath specimen.
After he left a boxing event at the Royal Showground, another driver saw him drive "all over the road, cutting into the middle of the road and onto the wrong side of the road, swerving into a muddy path", according to Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam, prosecuting.
The other driver said Huidan's driving was "incredibly dangerous, the worst driving I have ever seen", the Royal Court heard.
Crown Advocate Hallam, reading the other motorist's statement, said he was "scared for all road users, and pedestrians" adding that he "couldn't believe that he [Huidan] didn't crash into another vehicle or person".
The passenger in the other car called the police and described Huidan's eyes as "dilated".
When a police car approached, Huidan initially slowed down but then accelerated away, skipping three red lights during the chase. The pursuit was abandoned by the police.
Huidan left his car on Moneypenny Lane and was later arrested at Colmar Restaurant, the court heard.
He refused a roadside breath test and was taken to the police station, but when he got there, he was "rude" to police officers.
He told them: "I'm doing this every day. It's the first time you caught me, I'm a d***head every day."
Though he agreed to do a breath test, the advocate said he failed to give a sample "despite clear instructions", and refused a second attempt.
Advocate John Borg, defending, said Huidan "wishes to serve his sentence in custody and start afresh at the end of his sentence".
He said the incident was a one-off and the comments made to police were "flippant".
"He is not suggesting that he has done the act... I ask the court to disregard those as not true."
Huidan had strong character references and had written a letter of remorse.
"This is a one-off mistake," his advocate said.
Handing down the court's sentence, Commissioner Sir Michael Birt, presiding, said: "This is a prolonged piece of thoroughly dangerous driving which put other road users at risk of serious injury."
"It is a matter of pure chance that no-one was injured or worse as a result of your dangerous driving that evening.
"But it does appear to be wholly out of character."
Huidan was sentenced to ten months' imprisonment for dangerous driving and four months for failing to provide a specimen, with no separate sentence for failing to stop.
He was disqualified from driving for three years and will have to retake his test when his ban comes to an end.
Commissioner Birt was sitting alongside Jurats Andrew Cornish and David Le Heuzé.