The drunk dad led police on a high-speed chase through St Austell

A coked-up dad who sparked a high-speed police chase through St Austell before hitting a dead end has been spared jail. Steven McCarthy, 45, was caught speeding through the city by an unmarked police vehicle.

The father-of-two, of Cooperage Road in St Austell, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentencing on Friday (May 24) after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, driving with cocaine in his system and failing to comply with a police officer.

The court heard that a uniformed officer in an unmarked police car saw the defendant traveling fast in a 30mph zone on the A390 in the early hours of May 13, 2023. To keep up with Mcarthy, the officer had to to drive between 38mph and 57mph initially in the Holmbush area of ​​the city, later having to exceed 60mph towards Roche.

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As the defendant’s speed increased, the trooper raised his blue lights and alerted the police surveillance camera that he was following a vehicle. The officer then had to reach speeds of up to 74 mph to close the gap between himself and the defendant.

McCarthy later stopped the A390 on country roads. It was noted that although the speed limit then changed to the national limit of 60 mph, it was not considered an “appropriate” speed for travel.

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“While (the vehicle) was heading towards another intersection, it went straight into a bumpy lane and became a dead end near some residential properties,” said the prosecutor in the case. The total distance traveled under the observation of the police vehicle would have been 3.6 miles in four minutes and 40 seconds.

The defendant drove 2.5 miles between the time the blue lights were activated and when he stopped. Once McCarthy left the vehicle, his eyes were described as “wide” and his “slurred speech”.

A blood test revealed he was within the legal alcohol limit. However, he tested positive for cocaine.

Deni Mathews, defending, said it had been a year since Mcarthy’s offenses and since then there had been “significant steps” by him to address the offending. “His offending is largely a reflection of his experiences as a child and in care and from the age of 15 when he was required to live on the streets for a period,” Mr Mathews said.

He also argued that the offending took place at the “height” of the defendant’s difficulties, including stress around a significant amount of debt in the region of £30,000. “Mr McCarthy has accepted and is taking anti-depressants and it is helping him a lot,” he added, saying any custodial sentence would also affect his two children.

In his sentencing remarks, Recorder Richard Paige said: “I accept that you are no longer the person you were when you committed these offences, however I must pass a sentence which reflects the seriousness of your offence.”

McCarthy was sentenced to 28 weeks in prison, suspended for two years. He was disqualified from driving for a minimum of 12 months and must pass an extended driving test to regain his license after that. He was also made subject to a victim surcharge and collection order.

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