Not only did this male put the lives of innocent motorists at risk by failing to stop for the police, but he also put the lives of hundreds of train passengers at risk as well by driving through a level crossing barrier JUST before a train hurtles by.
In the footage released by North Yorkshire Police, Shane Hughes, 41, from Halifax, can be seen driving through the barrier and then abandoning the ambulance before making off on foot.
Seconds later, a high-speed train comes hurtling through the crossing narrowly missing the ambulance.
Hughes led officers on a chase for 37 miles before abandoning the decommissioned ambulance on the railway tracks at Kildwick, North Yorkshire, on 13 July.
The video, shot on the dash-cam of a police car, shows Hughes tearing the wrong way around a roundabout as he is followed by police.
After crashing through a barrier and stopping on the railway line, he is seen running away from his vehicle as a train rapidly approaches at 70mph.
Officers frantically wave to try to warn the train driver of the danger ahead as the three-carriage passenger train thunders past blasting its horn, narrowly missing the getaway vehicle.
On 20th November, Hughes was jailed for 22 months and banned for driving for six years and 11 months.
A judge at Bradford Crown Court said it was the worst case of dangerous driving he had ever seen.
He pleaded guilty to a number of driving offences and a charge of theft.
After sentencing, Traffic Constable Gemma Brett, of the Major Collision Investigation Unit who led the case for North Yorkshire Police, said:
“On the day of these offences, Shane Hughes put numerous lives at risk and could have caused untold carnage.
“His actions were totally irresponsible, illegal and focused entirely on himself with no thought whatsoever for the safety of anyone else.
“The sentence handed to him today shows that the courts, as well as the police, are determined to keep North Yorkshire’s communities safe by getting offenders like Hughes off our roads.”
Got a blog, video or story for our team?
Contact us via our Facebook page (below). We are interested in emergency services related stories and videos from both civilians and serving members of the emergency services, NHS or armed forces. You can contact us anonymously if you prefer.
Our team comprises exclusively of former armed forces and emergency services personnel.
Before you go...
WE NEED YOUR HELP.Here at Emergency Services News, we aim to tell you stories that the mainstream media are not interested in reporting. Whilst the MSM love to berate and ridicule the emergency services, who is there to report on the realities of serving on the front line?
Emergency Services News is currently a loss-making entity. But our team of volunteers, all former emergency services personnel, do not do it for the money.
We do it because we are sick and tired of the mainstream media constantly trying to undermine the men and women who put their lives on the line to keep you and your family safe.
How many MSM journalists who speak ill of the emergency services have actually dared to don the uniform and risk their own lives to save the life of a complete stranger? If you would like to help back our mission of reporting on fact-based news, then please consider helping to support us financially.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
