A police officer who crashed his patrol car in a 108mph ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ style chase was today cleared of dangerous driving – for the SECOND time.
PC Mark Milton, 46, careered over a grass verge with such force his front tyre was “shredded” when he lost control during the high-octane chase on October 26, 2011.
Milton, an advanced driver with West Mercia Police, was pursuing a thief who had pinched an Audi and was speeding along the A442 through the village of Cold Hatton, Shrops., when he crashed at 10.33pm.
The BMW 5 Series patrol car’s black box recorded Milton reached a staggering 108mph in a 40mph zone before smashing into the central reservation at 92mph.
Milton, who incredibly walked away from the wreckage unharmed and even cycled home after his shift finished, was cleared of dangerous driving at Worcester Crown Court.
He told the jury he crashed because he was distracted by a “dazzling light” and not as a result of driving at excessive speed.
His latest brush with the law comes seven years after he was cleared of dangerous driving by a judge after he was caught travelling at an “eye watering” 159mph in a patrol car.
His conviction was overturned by a judge who said Milton was the “crème de la crème” of police drivers and he was speeding because he was “familiarising” himself with the new car.
The officer, who is also trained in the use of firearms, was recorded travelling at 159mph on the motorway near Telford, Shrops., in the early hours of December 5, 2003.
Milton, of Market Drayton, Shrops., refused to comment outside court.
