Teenage biker vaults barrier and flees court in middle of being jailed over 180mph police chase

Watch: Police pursue teen as he drives at 180mph on motorway

A teenager whose dangerous motorcycle driving saw him clock speeds of 180mph during a police chase ran out of court as he was sentenced.

Marian Dragoi did 70mph in a 20mph zone and drove on the wrong side of the road before leading officers onto the M1 as he put motorists and pedestrians at risk.

He was chased down after a half-hour pursuit with the help of a police helicopter and later admitted dangerous driving offences.

The 19-year-old was jailed for 46 weeks at Wood Green Crown Court in London on Wednesday, but leapt from the dock and vaulted a chest-high barrier on his way to the door as Judge Andrew Holmes read out his remarks.

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The defendant, wearing a shark mouth face mask, fell but got back up, ran out of the courtroom and down four flights of stairs as he was pursued by security.

He was eventually stopped by two police officers and other security guards in the hallway, and police will now deal with the matter.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were in Haringey on 20 May when a number of high-powered motorbikes passed them at about 9.20pm.

Police found one of the registration plates was fake and the rider, Dragoi, of Haringey, was riding alone and did not know the other bikers.

He owned the motorcycle but did not have a licence or insurance.

The Met said he began to accelerate as officers tried to catch up with him, and a pursuit was authorised, with a National Police Air Service helicopter supporting the effort.

Dragoi drove through a series of red lights and travelled at “dangerously at high speeds... well in excess” of speed limits, police said.

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Sergeant Tony McGovern, of the Met’s anti-bike and moped crime operation, said: “At one point of the pursuit, Dragoi went straight through every single red light he was confronted with, rode on the wrong side of the road in his attempts to get away and even mounted pavements.

“Throughout the pursuit, he continued to ride in a dangerous manner, and he only had the NPAS helicopter tracking him – without any police vehicles on the ground anywhere near him.

“He failed to stop for police and continued to put his own life and the lives of other road users, as well as innocent pedestrians, into serious danger.”

When he got onto the M1, heading to Hertfordshire, Dragoi drove at more than 150mph, then reached 180mph as he entered Bedfordshire.

Footage from the police helicopter shows him driving alongside lorries, which officers suspected was to try and evade his pursuers.

He then pulls onto the hard shoulder before travelling back down the wrong side of the motorway, up a slip road and into a service station in Buckinghamshire.

Dragoi was arrested before before he could refuel his bike, and he later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, driving a motor vehicle without a licence, and driving without any insurance.

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