Terrifying second ‘confused’ pensioner, 87, hurtles previous police as he drives 29 miles the fallacious method on motorway
This is the shocking moment a ‘frail and confused’ pensioner sped past police after driving 29 miles in the wrong direction on a major motorway.
William Wylie, 87, was banned from driving in January after he drove in the wrong direction on the M6 in 2023.
Today, police have released video of the terrifying moment the confused pensioner sped past five police cars trying to stop him on the inside lane of the motorway.
In January, South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court heard the pensioner had driven his red Peugeot 206 car nearly 30 miles south on the northbound carriageway at around 9.40pm on December 23.
Officers smashed the car windows to extract the confused OAP, who had obtained his licence 70 years prior, from his car.
Wylie drove from junction 40, just outside Penrith, Cumbria, all the way to junction 36, on the wrong side of the motorway.
In the video Wylie first evades one officer, passing him on the inside lane, driving in the wrong direction. The officer veered into Wylie’s lane in an attempt to slow him down, but the driver did not react and drove straight past.
In a second clip, Wylie is then seen speeding past another officer on the inside lane of the M6 again.
A convoy of police vehicles attempts to block William Wylie, who was approaching police on the wrong side of the road
Wylie’s vehicle is seen manoeuvring past a blockade of police cars on the M6, narrowly avoiding one police car and forcing another to move out of the way
Police footage shows Wylie’s vehicle speed past police cars whilst driving on the wrong side of the road
In the third clip of the video, a row of five police cars line up on all lanes of the motorway in an attempt to force Wylie to stop. The police car on the inside lane then has to move out of the way to avoid a head-on-collision with the pensioner, who narrowly avoided contact with another police vehicle.
Peter Kelly, prosecuting the case, said officers were unsuccessful in putting in place roadblocks at J37 and J38 whilst the defendant was ‘travelling at speed’.
One policeman believed his ‘life was going to be in danger’ as a result of a likely ‘head-on collision’, the court was told.
His solicitor, Andy Gallager conceded his client was ‘extremely fortunate, through luck rather than judgement, that no one was injured’ after the defendant’s vehicle came to a ‘natural stop’ without police having to make ‘tactical contact’.
Mr Kelly said Wylie was ‘frail and confused’ when officers smashed his driver’s side window to get him out of his seat.
It comes after they had ‘blocked the vehicle in’ following the defendant placing the car into reverse, the court was told.
The court heard the defendant obtained his driving license at the age of 17 and had no driving related convictions.
District Judge Arlegh Davies fined Wylie, of Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancs., £461 for the offence and banned him from driving for three years.
He was also ordered to take an extended retest if he ever wished to drive again.
After concluding the sentence, Judge Davies told the defendant to ‘face the reality’ of the situation in coming to terms that he would probably never be able to drive again.
