A driver who panicked and sped off from police at 140km/h as they attempted to pull him over on the Bass Highway has been jailed for eight months.
Liam Hume was behind the wheel without a license and with cannabis in his car when he was seen overtaking a vehicle at high speeds and narrowly missing it near Wynyard on April 15.
The Supreme Court heard Hume sped off through the streets of Somerset and was only stopped by road spikes several kilometres down the road after a high-speed chase.
Chief Justice Alan Blow said Hume was on a “collision course” with other vehicles while crossing double white lines during the pursuit.
“You kept going for some distance even after your tyres deflated. You ran and hid under a caravan. You were arrested and you have been in custody ever since,” Blow said.
Hume pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, evading police, driving without a licence, possessing cannabis, speeding, driving without due care and attention and disobeying a give way sign.
The Chief Justice said Hume has a “terrible record” but no prior convictions for dangerous driving.
“Because of your record, the only appropriate course is for me to give you two separate sentences of imprisonment – one for evading police, one for everything else,” Blow said.
Blow acknowledged factors in Hume’s favour, including his guilty plea, his hopes to get his life in order and his partner and children.
“It looks as though you came close,” he said.
“Importantly from my point of view, you pleaded guilty to the dangerous driving charge at a very early stage.”
Hume was sentenced to a total of sixteen months in prison and will become eligible for parole after serving eight of them.
He was also disqualified from driving for three years and “could be out before Christmas”, Blow said.
