Car thief who crashed into central reservation is sentenced

A 20-year-old man who crashed a stolen car into the central reservation of a busy Wellingborough road has been sentenced. 

In the early hours of November 26, 2022, Rayshawn Dvntai Bailey, previously of Burns Road, Wellingborough, was driving a white Mercedes hire car, which he had taken without the owner’s consent, when he crashed into the central reservation of Turnells Mill Lane.

However, when officers approached the car, Bailey fled the scene, running into a carpark and getting into another vehicle which drove him away at speed.

He was later arrested and subsequently charged with aggravated vehicle taking without consent, driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road/in a public place without due care and attention, using a motor vehicle on a road/public place without third party insurance, driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence, and causing a vehicle to be left in a dangerous position.

At Northampton Crown Court this week (Wednesday, October 25), Bailey was found guilty of the offences and sentenced to 200 hours of community service, disqualified from driving for 12 months, and ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £774.

Lead Investigator - PC Josh Unsworth said: “Rayshawn Bailey was very lucky that night as when he lost control of the vehicle, he could have killed himself or others.

“I hope this conviction is a lesson to him and also a deterrent for people who think driving without a licence or without the vehicle owner’s consent is acceptable.”