A motorcyclist, high on drugs, narrowly avoided hitting children in a stolen bike crash in Chester-le-Street.
Ciaran Parker, age 20, was riding a stolen Kawasaki 300 bike when a police motorcyclist noticed him in Pelton around 10:30 AM on April 2. Parker didn’t stop for the officer’s lights and sped toward South Pelaw instead. He was going 60 mph in a 30 mph zone and wasn’t wearing a helmet.
The officer chased Parker as he drove very dangerously. He passed cars at junctions, sped, drove on the wrong side of the road, and crossed a pedestrian crossing on a green light.
Parker got to Chester-le-Street’s town center and didn’t yield at a junction, making a bus stop. Then, he sped down Front Street at over 40 mph, though the street was for pedestrians, before losing control.
After the crash, the bike slid down the road and nearly hit a mother and her kids who were shopping. Parker sustained bad injuries and went to the hospital, leading to a police investigation.
Police confirmed the bike was stolen that day around 1:20 AM from a yard in Stanley. A drug test found cocaine and cannabis in Parker’s system at the time of the crash.
He faced many charges, including aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, driving without a license and insurance, and driving under the influence. Parker pleaded guilty to everything at Durham Crown Court and was sentenced on Thursday, February 13.
A detective said Parker drove very dangerously, riding fast in residential areas and often on the wrong side of the road, before crashing in a busy town center. He stated It’s amazing no one died and hopes the sentence sends a message that dangerous driving has huge consequences.