Bizarre moment man kisses girlfriend through court glass after being jailed for 'mad piece of driving'
06.04.2023 - 17:23
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A man who was jailed for an 'absolutely mad piece of driving' stopped to kiss his girlfriend through the court glass before being led away in handcuffs.
Ryan Cook, 33, led police on a high speed chase after he was spotted speeding by officers on duty in Ashton-under-Lyne, and failed to stop after they activated their emergency equipment.
As a judge at Minshull Street Crown Court jailed him for nine months, the defendant asked him: "Can I give my girlfriend a kiss at least?” before his partner walked up to the glass of the dock and the pair kissed.
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The court heard Cook had been driving back from the hospital, after his pregnant partner had been induced, when he came to the attention of police, and failed to stop.
He weaved through traffic in the VW Golf, drove through multiple red lights, and at one stage reached 60mph in a 30mph zone.
The pursuit only came to an end when the Golf ploughed into a silver Mercedes taxi. The driver, who was not working at the time, was dropping his son off at his friends, when they heard a loud bang. Fortunately, neither the driver nor his son were seriously injured.
Cook attempted to flee following the crash but was arrested. Officers attempted to carry out a breathalyser test on him as they believed he was under the influence of alcohol, but he failed to provide a reading.
He was jailed for nine months for the ‘absolutely mad piece of driving.' The sentencing judge deemed that it was "inevitable" that there would be a collision.
Prosecuting, Duncan Wilcock said that on August 8 last year at around 9.20pm, two police officers were on duty when they saw the Golf driving at high speed