Bail breach driver had girl in car illegally when he flipped car in Kirkcaldy police chase

A police chase in Fife ended when a motorist flipped his car after speeding past a Kirkcaldy school at more than twice the speed limit.

Michael Downie illegally had a teenage girl in his car during the chase and the pursuit began when he was spotted with her, despite bail conditions preventing him from contact.

Fiscal depute Isma Mukhtar told the Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court that Downie, 21, the pair had had a number of interactions earlier that day, including one in which he chased her down the street while naked.

They were eventually tracked down in a car behind a property in Kirkcaldy.

The prosecutor said: “At 3.20pm officers were alerted by a member of the public that the offender was sitting within the driver seat of a vehicle at the rear of a property in Overton Road, Kirkcaldy and the complainer was in the passenger seat.

“Officers approached the vehicle and attempted to box it in to prevent it driving off.

“As officers alighted their vehicle, the accused reversed into a wall and negotiated round the police vehicle whilst an officer was reaching in, attempting to remove the keys.

“His vehicle collided with the offside of the unmarked police vehicle, causing slight damage.”

High-speed chase

The fiscal continued: “The offender continued north on Overton Road towards Dunnikier Way, reaching a speed of 55mph in a 30 zone.

“He entered a 20mph temporary speed limit as he passed St Andrews High School.

“He drove in the opposing lane for the entirety of this road, overtaking vehicles and causing oncoming vehicles to take evasive action to avoid a collision.

“He exited the roundabout on Carberry Road towards the Mitchelston industrial estate and negotiated another roundabout the wrong way in the face of an oncoming vehicle.

“He continued on Carberry Road, reaching a speed of 45mph in a 30 zone.

“He negotiated the right hand bend and overtook a vehicle, crossing into the opposing lane.

“He continued to drive in the opposing lane and narrowly avoided colliding with a transit panel van.

“As a result, he lost control of the vehicle, rolling it into a hedgerow and causing the vehicle to come to rest on its roof.”

When pulled from the car, Downie told officers: “I love my baby girl”.

He and the 17-year-old girl were taken to hospital.

Witnesses told The Courier at the time up to 10 police vehicles had been involved in the chase.

Admissions

Solicitor Jane Caird, defending, said Downie was placed on bail in May, with conditions banning him from contacting the girl.

She said: “The complainer was never supportive of bail being in place.”

She added the car Downie was driving was his mother’s and had been written off in the incident.

Downie, of Greenbank Place, Dundee, admitted driving dangerously on a number of roads in Kirkcaldy on September 12.

He further admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner towards the teenage girl at an address in Kirkcaldy and a number of breaches of bail on the same date date.

Prison warning

Sentencing had been deferred for a social work report and Sheriff Mark Allen told Downie he was narrowly avoiding a prison sentence.

He said: “But for your age, the time you have spent in custody and your change in attitude – suspicious as the social worker was of that – you’d be going back to jail.

“There is a glimmer of hope in this report but it’s now or never or you are going to spend the rest of your life in prison.

“I am about to give you an opportunity and you’d better take it.

“This was an incredibly irresponsible and dangerous piece of driving.

“You put at risk your own life and all of those who came into contact with you that day.”

He disqualified Downie from driving for two years and ordered him to sit the extended test.

He also imposed 180 hours of unpaid work, a two-year supervision order and a non-harassment order preventing him from contacting the girl for five years.

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