Furious driving dad collided with his son’s stolen motorbike while chasing him

A father who saw red swooped on his son’s stolen motorbike as he chased the people he believed to have stung it.

Peter Merrett’s son had previously had his motorbike stolen and it was recovered from the same area Merrett was passing through on the day of the collision.

The father drove to the place on the likelihood of finding the bike and it was there that he saw two “boys” on the bike.

This week he admitted driving dangerously in pursuit of the vehicle before accidentally hitting it from behind.

The 39-year-old, who has eleven previous convictions, was given a four-month suspended 18-month sentence with pardon and an 18-month driving ban.

At Newcastle Crown Court it was revealed how Merrett, of Forest Hall, traveled to the Longbenton area in North Tyneside on September 11, 2021.

He saw the bike coming in the opposite direction and turned his car around, then chased it at high speed, hitting a wall, causing damage to his car at one point.

But he continued the pursuit in a residential area of ​​Longbenton, according to the Newcastle Chronicle.

Convicting him, recorder Geoffrey Pritchard said he was chasing him so closely: “When he stopped you couldn’t stop and you hit the back with the bonnet of your car.

“It’s not a case of using the car as a weapon, it’s more like a road rage type case.

“Driving did not care about the safety of members of the public in a residential area at a busy time of day.”

He pleaded guilty on the grounds that he had not deliberately driven on the motorcycle to hit it, but rather that the accident was caused by the speed at which he was traveling and his stopping distance.

Jennifer Coxon, defending, said: “He fully accepts his wrongdoing.

“He accepts having seen red.

“It was not the first time that his son had had a motorbike stolen.

“His son lives in Longbenton and he knew people might run over him. He decided to pass by this area to see if he could find anything and he did.

“He took matters into his own hands and shouldn’t have.

“It was clouded judgment. He saw red in a situation where he felt he needed to take control.

Miss Coxon said Merrett works full time and has five children, including a three-year-old who lives with him.

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