A driver smashed through a police roadblock as officers were dealing with a fatal car crash on a busy dual carriageway, a court has heard. Intoxicated Craig Roach had to be dragged from his vehicle at the point of a Taser to be arrested, and then
pretended to have a seizure before shouting threats at the officers.
Roach had a distressed passenger in his car at the time - a former girlfriend who he is banned from contacting due to a restraining order. He has repeatedly breached the order relating to his ex-partner, including going on holiday with her to a Butlins
resort. Roach's advocate said the defendant has "a long history of drug and alcohol abuse and associated mental health issues" which was not helped by him repeatedly going into and coming out of prison over a number of years.
Brian Simpson, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that on the evening of September 8 this year police were dealing with a serious road traffic collision on the A465 near Resolven in the Neath Valley. The northbound carriageway was closed while
emergency teams worked at the scene, and as a result a long queue of traffic had built up. The court hard one of those caught in the congestion was Roach in his Vauxhall Insignia car.
Mr Simpson said police began to clear the queue by escorting groups of cars back down the northbound carriageway of the A465 to Aberdulais where they could exit the road but when an officer asked Roach if he would join a group of other drivers for a
briefing on what was going to happen, he pulled out of the queue, quickly turned around, and drove off at speed against the traffic. The court heard he was seen to weave in and out of vehicles and at one point came close to hitting a police officer who
was standing on the road. A policeman on an unmarked motorbike heard on his radio what was happening ahead of him and when Roach raced passed he turned around and pursued him.
The court heard police officers who had blocked the A465 entry slip road at Aberdulais to prevent further cars from joining the queue were alerted to what was happening and they got ready to use a "stinger" tyre puncturing device should the fleeing man
try to leave the bypass. Roach duly entered the on-slip at speed and the stinger was successfully deployed - the defendant's Vauxhall continued up the slip road and smashed into the police cars before coming to a stop on the Aberdulais roundabout. The
officers deployed their Tasers and dragged Roach from his car.
The 42-year-old defendant told police he had been drinking, and then he pretended to have a seizure before shouting threats at the officers. A passenger then got out of Roach's car - his former partner - and identified herself to police. The court heard
the woman was in a "distressed" state. The prosecutor said a £24,000 police car that the defendant crashed into was written off in the incident. Roach was arrested and subsequently refused to gave a sample for analysis saying police should have done a
roadside test when they had the chance and then telling officers to "**** off".
Craig Adrian Roach, of Pen-y-Bryn Court, Croespenmaen, Crumlin Caerphilly County, had previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, failing to provide a specimen, and breaching a restraining order
when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. The plea to the breach of the restraining order was on the basis that his ex-partner was a willing passenger in his car. The prosecutor said Roach's ex was not supportive of the prosecution and had not given a
statement to police, so the defendant's basis could not be challenged.
The defendant has 25 previous convictions for 57 offences including dangerous driving and nine of driving while disqualified . At the time of the incident on the A465 he was subject to a restraining order banning him from having contact with his ex, an
order he has breached on six previous occasions. The court heard the restraining order was imposed in 2018 and the multiple breaches of the order since then have included the pair going on holiday together to Butlins in Skegness. His last breach happened
at Christmas last year when he bombarded his ex with messages to the effect that she was not going to get away with "moving on" and "screwing up" his life.
Andrew Shanahan, for Roach, said it was the defendant's account that his ex-partner had got in touch for him, and that the pair had gone on a trip to Brecon before driving to Swansea. He described the couple's relationship as "toxic". The advocate said
what happened in the queue of traffic on the A465 had been a "moment of madness" and Roach did not know he had been disqualified as a "totter" - reaching a total of 12 penalty points on a licence - because he had been convicted in absence. Mr Shanahan
added that the defendant has "a long history of drug and alcohol abuse and associated mental health issues" which was not helped by him repeatedly going into and coming out of prison.
Judge Catherine Richards said she did not accept the characterisation of the couple's relationship as "toxic" saying one party was guilty of violent and abusive behaviour while the other was the victim of violent and abusive behaviour, and she said there
was an "imbalance of power" at play. The judge said on the day in question the defendant had consumed substances and driven dangerously over a prolonged period with a vulnerable woman as his passenger.
With one-third discounts for his guilty pleas Roach was sentenced to a total of 20 months in prison comprising 16 months for dangerous driving and four months for breach of a restraining order to run consecutively. He was sentenced to two months in
prison for driving while disqualified and two months for failing to provide a sample - these sentences to run concurrently with one another and concurrently with the 20 months - while no separate penalty was imposed for driving without insurance. Roach
will serve up to half the 20 months in prison before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant was disqualified from driving for two years, with ban extended by another 10 months to account for the time he will be
behind bars.
Speaking after the sentencing South Wales Police sergeant Richard Coulthard, the officer in the case, said: "Roach’s actions on that evening really do beggar belief. We know delays can be frustrating for other motorists, but the vast majority of the
public understand and show compassion and patience, knowing that on many occasions, there is likely to be someone injured or worse. On this particular occasion a man had indeed lost his life, and yet Roach showed a complete disregard for that, and for
himself, his passenger and other motorists. In doing so he put further lives and risks, and subsequently ended up adding to those delays experienced by other motorists."
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/driver-fatal-crash-police-roadblock-27904102
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