'Careless' Rotherham police officer admits causing 100mph crash which left three injured and £48,000 trail of destruction

A POLICE officer who wrote off two cop cars worth £40,000, damaged six other vehicles and injured three colleagues in a 100mph smash has been fined.
PC Daniel Guest leaving Leeds Crown Court todayPC Daniel Guest leaving Leeds Crown Court today
PC Daniel Guest leaving Leeds Crown Court today

PC Daniel Guest, who is based at Rotherham Police Station, took a corner at almost 100mph while responding to a report of a possible serious assault.

Guest (33), of Hesley Road, Harworth, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to careless driving at Leeds Crown Court today (Monday).

He changed his plea on the day his dangerous driving trial was due to start after the Crown Prosecution Service accepted his guilty plea for the lesser offence.

Prosecutor Ms Clare Walsh said the BMW being driven by Guest had reached speeds of between 94mph and 99mph on the 40mph dual carriageway after leaving Shepcote Lane Custody Suite at 10.30pm on November 2, 2017. 

The officer lost control of the car, which careered onto the other side of the road and crashed into a wall, she said

The police vehicle was shunted back across the road, crashing into a Peugeot being driven by Guest's colleagues, who were responding to the same incident.

Six second-hand cars which were parked nearby were damaged by flying debris and both police cars - worth £20,000 each - were written off, causing around £48,000 worth of damage in total.

Ms Walsh said Guest and three officers had been injured but walked away from the crash.

Guest’s passenger was taken to hospital after tearing ligaments in his knee and had to have his anterior cruciate ligament replaced, Ms Walsh said.

The two officers in the Peugeot were also taken to hospital and one of them suffered whiplash.

Judge Rodney Jameson, QC, said: “It was a particularly bad misjudgement and it had serious consequences.”

Guest was fined £400 and given five penalty points on his licence.