Coventry man who stole Amazon van and injured driver jailed

Jarren Reid was jailed for more than 13 years at Warwick Crown Court

A man who stole an Amazon delivery van and left its driver with life-changing injuries has been jailed.

Jarren Reid, 33, jumped into the van as it stopped to make a delivery in Coventry in November 2018.

The driver tried to stop him by clinging onto the bonnet and was thrown off and hit by a lorry after Reid swerved and hit the brakes.

Reid, of Lapworth Road in Coventry, was jailed for 13-and-a-half years at Warwick Crown Court on Friday.

He admitted theft and wounding after evading police for almost four years and declining to answer questions in police interviews.

'Calculated theft'

West Midlands Police said Reid had been a passenger in a van that followed the delivery vehicle on 19 November 2018.

He jumped into the Amazon van as it pulled up at the junction between Caludon Road and Swan Lane.

The van was later found burnt out in Shilton Lane, near Reid's home address.

The Amazon driver, Oleg Madan, suffered a traumatic brain injury and has been left with lasting movement and balance problems, police said.

"This was a calculated theft which left the victim with lasting injuries requiring life-saving surgery," said Det Con Keith Clarkson.

"This conviction comes as a result of some excellent work from officers investigating, as well as the testimonies of the witnesses who saw what happened."