Driver led police on 95mph chase through Farnsfield after ‘going off the rails’

Nottinghamshire Police said 30-year-old Ondrej Kralik reached speeds of 95 miles per hour during the 10-minute pursuit.

The chase began when officers spotted him mount a grass verge as he recklessly overtook another vehicle on a roundabout along Old Rufford Road, Calverton.

He accelerated away at speed, prompting the officers to turn around in order to catch up with the silver Kia Ceed.

When police activated blue lights and sirens, Kralik increased his speed and failed to stop.

Footage of the chase was played to Nottingham Crown Court, showing:

Kralik reaching 86mph in a 50mph zone;

Officers flashing headlights in a bid to get him to stop – only for Kralik to go even faster, hitting 95mph (almost double the speed limit) in an effort to evade capture;

Kralik veering onto the wrong side of the road at high speed overtaking vehicles, risking a head-on collision.

He then sped over the brow of a hill while on the wrong side of the road and went the wrong way around a roundabout, before reaching 85mph in a 30mph zone.

After tearing through Farnsfield, Edingley and Hallam, he reached Southwell where he tried to head down a one-way system in Queen Street. However, his car became wedged between a BMW and a sign post, enabling officers to pull him out of the car and arrest him.

The court heard the pursuit happened on September 28 – just six days after he committed another motoring offence that resulted in a £656 fine and his driving licence being endorsed with six points.

Kralik, of Worksop Road, St Ann’s, Nottingham, admitted dangerous driving.

The court heard he had no previous convictions and committed the offence at a time when he’d gone “off the rails”, struggling following the breakdown of a relationship, loss of employment and loss of accommodation.

Kralik was jailed for 10 months, suspended for two years, ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for 18 months.

Sentencing, Judge Nirmal Shant KC said: “This was a particularly bad piece of dangerous driving over a sustained period of time. I have no doubt you only stopped because you tried to go the wrong way down a one-way route and collided with a vehicle. It’s only luck rather than good judgement that you didn’t cause a serious injury to someone else.”

Insp Graham Clarke, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was an appalling and dangerous display of driving that could very easily have ended up with someone being killed or seriously injured.

“By attempting to flee from the police he placed members of the public and himself at considerable risk. I am pleased that his pursuit was bought to a safe conclusion and would like to pay tribute to the skill and professionalism of the officers involved.

“I hope Kralik learns from this experience and resolves never to act in this way again.”