Man claimed that dog was sitting on accelerator pedal during high-speed police chase

A first-time dog owner blamed Buster, his newly acquired bull terrier, for a high-speed pursuit which could have caused serious injuries or even a fatality. But a judge was unimpressed with Jordan James Winn’s explanation for his driving and remanded him in custody, with a warning that he should expect to receive a jail sentence later this month. Appearing for a scheduled trial at Durham Crown Court on Wednesday, 23-year-old Winn changed his plea to ‘guilty’ to dangerous driving.

But it was on the basis that his unrestrained Staffordshire bull terrier, Buster, which he had just collected as a rescue dog, became excitable and leapt into the driver’s footwell, between him and the steering wheel, on his return home. The court heard that a police patrol officer spotted him driving at speed in Chester-le-Street, shortly after 5pm, on October 19 last year. Jane Waugh, prosecuting, said the officer activated his flashing lights and began pursuing Winn’s Volvo S60, which reached speeds of more than 80-miles per hour, averaging 67-mph in a 30-limit zone over the near mile-long chase.



The Volvo swerved to avoid a car, before suddenly turning right, cutting across an oncoming Nissan Juke, which was forced to suddenly brake to avoid a collision. Miss Waugh said the Juke contained a couple and children aged three and ten. The Volvo eventually stopped as the patrol car approached and Winn was arrested. As he emerged from the car, so did the bull terrier, which Miss Waugh said was then seen running around excitably. Winn conceded as a new owner he was unaware if Buster should be restrained, and, but for the dog’s antics in the car he would not have driven as he did. He said that for a time the dog must have been sitting on the accelerator pedal, and was covering the brake, until he managed to pull it from the footwell, causing it to become more aggressive.

But Judge Christopher Prince said: “I have no hesitation whatsoever in wholly rejecting that account. “The defendant has offered an utterly ludicrous explanation and shown no remorse for extremely dangerous driving. He could have stopped at any time and deliberately chose not to do so. It was dangerous driving in an effort to avoid capture. The manoeuvre in turning across the oncoming car came within inches of loss of life or very serious injury.” Remanding Winn, of Chester-le-Street, in custody, Judge Prince said: “The message has to go out that people engaging in chases with police should expect custody.” Winn will be sentenced after preparation of a background probation report on October 31.