Disqualified driver seriously hurt three people

Max Holmes drove "dangerously and recklessly" in a stolen car before hitting another vehicle head on

A disqualified driver left three people seriously injured when he collided with another vehicle during a police chase.

Max Holmes, of Homemead Grove, Birmingham, was driving a stolen silver Vauxhall Mariva in Canwick, near Lincoln, on Sunday 4 August when he was asked to stop by officers.

Lincolnshire Police said the 20-year-old then sped off, "driving dangerously and recklessly" before colliding with another car.

Holmes, who had previously pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance, was sentenced to three years in a young offenders' institute at Lincoln Crown Court earlier.

The car Holmes was driving had significant rear-end damage, was uninsured and also had no current MOT certificate, police added.

After "accelerating away at speed", Holmes then drove in the oncoming lane of the dual carriageway at the traffic light-controlled junction of Thorndyke Way and Belt Road, in Gainsborough, where he hit a Mercedes head on.

A man and woman in their 60s, who were travelling in the Mercedes, and a woman in her 20s, who was a passenger in Holmes’ vehicle, were seriously injured and taken to hospital.

A third vehicle, also a black Mercedes, was damaged during the collision. The driver, a man in his 60s, had less serious injuries.

Det Sgt Adam Doona said: “Had Max Holmes simply stopped his car on the morning of 4 August, no one would have been injured.

“There is no doubt other road users have been forced to take avoiding action and have been shocked by the reckless driving.”

Holmes was also disqualified from driving for a total of six years and four months and will have to pass an extended test before he can legally drive again.

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