Drug driver jailed after crashing car on major route

A drug driver who told Northamptonshire Roads Policing officers that he was “glad I didn’t kill anyone…I’m proper stoned” has been handed a 25-month custodial sentence and disqualified from driving for more than three years.

Shortly before 7am on Friday, May 3, last year, a silver Volkswagen Golf car which had been stolen from Wellingborough at the end of April activated automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras near Thrapston.

Officers from the Force’s Roads Policing Team spotted the same car 45 minutes later in Oundle but the driver – 29-year-old Luke Sambrook – saw the marked police car behind him and sped off.

Sambrook drove at excessive speeds and forced other innocent road users to take evasive action as he completed several dangerous manoeuvres as he tried to escape the police.

As he drove towards Titchmarsh, Sambrook lost control of the car and it collided with signage and street furniture at the roundabout junction with the A605 eastern bypass at Thrapston, which caused significant damage to the vehicle.

After being detained, Sambrook told officers: “I’m glad I didn’t kill anyone. I could have done, driving like that. I’m proper stoned. Not that it matters but I bought this car to drive to work. I’ve not taken cocaine for two days, but I have taken cannabis this morning.”

Sambrook, who only held a provisional driving licence, failed the roadside drug wipe test for cannabis, while two small bags of what was suspected to be the Class B drug were found inside the car.

Following his arrest, Sambrook was subsequently sent a postal requisition notifying him that he had been charged with five offences.

On November 12, at Northampton Magistrates’ Court, Sambrook pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit – after blood analysis confirmed he was twice over the prescribed limit.

He also admitted to driving a motor vehicle dangerously, driving with no licence and without third party insurance, as well as possession of a Class B drug (cannabis/cannabis resin), and his case was committed to Northampton Crown Court for sentencing.

On Monday, January 6, Sambrook, of no fixed address, appeared at the crown court where he was handed a 25-month custodial sentence, of which he will serve 13 months in prison and the remainder on licence. He was also disqualified from driving for three years and 14 days.

Following sentencing, lead investigator Response officer PC Jake Hardacre, of the North LPA, said: “Luke Sambrook knew that he shouldn’t be behind the wheel that day and his dangerous efforts to avoid the police demonstrate his reckless and selfish outlook.

“He not only didn’t hold a full driving licence but after admitting to smoking cannabis earlier that morning, his evidential blood sample confirmed that he was in fact twice the legal limit for a specified controlled drug.

“Choosing to drive when impaired by drugs is equally as dangerous and unacceptable as drink driving. Even a small amount in your system can affect your ability to drive safely and it is just by sheer luck that the manner of Sambrook’s driving didn’t have devastating consequences.

"We continue to be committed to making our roads safer and make no apology for stopping those who choose to drive whilst under the influence of drink or drugs. Our roads are a safer place without people like Sambrook on them.”

Anyone with information about road safety concerns or any vehicle crime is asked to report it online at www.northants.police.uk/reportonline or call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Always call 999 in the event of an emergency, such as a crime in progress or where life is at risk.