Devon car ride horror after wife fetches husband from pub

Susan Rogers was overwhelmed by "irrational panic" after going the wrong way down a country lane

A woman who bashed her drunken husband's pickup truck into the sides of a Devon country lane during an argument about directions, nearly mowed down a police officer who came to help, a court heard.

Susan Rogers, 61, was in such a "heightened emotional state" trying to manoeuvre the large Nissan Navara that she ignored the officer's warning to stop and get out.

Instead, after repeatedly reversing into hedges, she put her foot down and drove away, a court heard. The policeman "feared for his life", jumped over a garden gate and injured himself on a wheelie bin.

A judge at Exeter Crown Court spared Rogers prison for dangerous driving, to which she pleaded guilty. He said she was a woman of "exemplary character" and pointed the finger of blame at her husband. "The actions of your drunken husband led you to commit the offence as you did," he said.

He added that Rogers had become "overwhelmed by irrational panic, thinking of nothing except getting away and getting home".

Want the latest Devon breaking news and top stories first? Click here to join our WhatsApp group. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice

The incident happened at about 11pm in July of last year in a narrow lane outside the village of Broadhempston near Totnes. Rogers went to a pub in the village to fetch her husband and was driving back after having had one glass of wine herself.

She was insured to drive the pickup but was "unfamiliar" with doing so. "You were sober, he was drunk," added Judge Neil Davey.

Rogers, of Valley Road, Chudleigh Knighton, got behind the wheel and the pair headed off home. But no sooner had they got into the truck than the couple had a "blazing row".

"You complained about his behaviour and he complained you were going the wrong way home and requiring you to take a different route," said Judge Davey. Rogers tried to reverse the truck but instead repeatedly slammed into the hedge.

It just so happened that at the same time a police officer was in the village arresting a man on a completely different job. Rogers was making such a hash of the steering that it attracted a villager who told the officer there was a suspected drink driver in the lane.

PC Christopher Shepheard went to investigate. He shone his torch, repeatedly identified himself as police and shouted "get out, now". Rogers carried on crashing the car and failed to respond, even when the officer called through the open passenger side door and got out his taser.

Rogers then drove directly at the officer, leaving him no option but to jump over a garden gate to escape. He landed on a wheelie bin and suffered swelling and bruising to his knee which was still causing him grief days later, the court heard.

"I've never felt in fear for my personal safety like I did that night," said the officer in a statement. There was a complete disregard for my safety and I genuinely feared for my life."

Rogers drove home but was tracked down and arrested a couple of days later. She admitted being the driver but said she didn't know a policeman was there and did not deliberately drive at him.

She remembered screaming at her husband after the pair disagreed about which way to go home. She started reversing after her husband aggressively informed her she had "taken the wrong route," said Paul Dentith, defending.

He said she was mortified by what happened, has no anti-police attitudes and had wanted to become a magistrate. The couple were dealing with a lot a stressful circumstances in their lives at the time.

Judge Davey said it took "highly unusual circumstances" for a person like Rogers to break the law in the way she did. "In your desperation to get away you endangered life."

Rather than a suspended sentence, he imposed a 12-month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered she pay £500 compensation. The defendant was also disqualified for 12 months.

"It's important for a lady of exemplary good character such as you to be able to carry on working and contributing and deriving self-worth by being able to work and contribute."