Driver jailed after biker hit-and-run

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

Image caption, Jason Collins, 46, had 150 previous convictions

A career criminal who drove away after hitting a biker during a high-speed police chase has been jailed.

Jason Collins, 46, was being pursued by officers in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, in October 2021 when he pulled out of a junction without looking and crashed into the motorcyclist.

The biker suffered multiple bone fractures but Collins continued to flee the police.

He was jailed for three years at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

150 convictions

Nottinghamshire Police said officers initially tried to stop Collins, of Stanton Hill, Sutton-in-Ashfield, after spotting him acting suspiciously in the early hours of 6 October 2021.

He refused to stop and caused a head-on collision with the 19-year-old motorcyclist at the junction of Mason Street and Unwin Road.

Collins - who has 150 previous convictions for multiple crimes relating to drugs, violence and motoring offences - sped away, despite his car being seriously damaged.

Unaware of the collision, the police pursued him until he abandoned his Vauxhall Vectra a short time later and ran into an address where he was arrested.

'Reckless'

The biker was treated for multiple injuries, including a broken back, and has experienced flashbacks.

PC Lyndon Brown said: "Collins showed a staggering disregard not only for the police officers who pursued him, but also for the safety of other road users.

"His driving was of such a poor and reckless standard that he hit a young motorcyclist, who could easily have been killed."