Macauley Tomlinson
A 26-year-old man has today been jailed for four years after admitting two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving during a police pursuit which ended in Keynsham.
Macauley Tomlinson, of Midsomer Norton appeared at Bristol Crown Court today. The court gave him credit for an early guilty plea.
He was arrested in the early hours of Sunday 1st May after failing to stop for officers responding to reports from members of the public that a woman had been pulled into a vehicle. Police were called about the incident in Hotwells Road, Bristol, at about 11.50pm on Saturday 30th April.
Tomlinson drove off at speed through the city centre, colliding with two pedestrians after running a red light onto St Augustine’s Parade. One of them was carried on the bonnet of his silver Ford Kuga for some distance.
Despite this he carried on, joining the M32 where there was a collision involving a taxi and one of the police vehicles involved in the pursuit.
Tomlinson’s vehicle was finally stopped on Wellsway at Keynsham by officers who deployed a stinger device to puncture the tyres.
He tried to escape on foot but was being tracked by the National Police Air Service helicopter and quickly detained by officers on the ground.
The male passenger in the taxi had significant physical injuries. It took two hours for the 34-year-old to be freed from the vehicle. He is still recovering from serious injuries to his pelvis, hip and wrist following two operations.
His pregnant partner, 36, was also trapped in the car and police say they are relieved that she did not lose her unborn child. She continues to suffer back pain.
The taxi driver, a 38-year-old man, has whiplash and ongoing back pain.
A 19-year-old woman was carried on the bonnet. She fractured her tibia and suffered grazing and bruising, exacerbating a pre-existing medical condition. Her boyfriend, also 19, was thrown about a metre by the impact. He had cuts and bruises and has been left with a facial scar.
Officer in the case PC Andy Smetham said: “Tomlinson was driving at speeds of up to 80mph in on city centre roads busy with pedestrians on a Saturday night. He reached 120mph on the M32.
“He failed to stop even after colliding with two pedestrians and carrying a young woman around 100 metres on his bonnet. In fact he swerved the car trying to dislodge her as she clung to the windscreen wiper.
“Tomlinson’s actions changed everything for five innocent people: a couple who should be preparing for the arrival of their first child, teenagers who should be pursuing their university studies and a man who has lost his livelihood. I hope this sentence will enable them to start rebuilding their lives.”
The incident was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to the police involvement prior to the collisions. The IOPC directed that there should be a local investigation, which continues.
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