Waitress whose son, two, was present in her BMW simply ten minutes after she led cops on 121mph automobile chase avoids jail after decide mentioned he could not be certain toddler was inside throughout pursuit

A waitress has dodged jail after her two-year-old son was found in the back of a BMW she drove on a wild 121mph police chase.

Sophia Dillon, 20, embarked on the mad get away along the motorway near Manchester as her vehicle had been identified as uninsured.

Desperate attempts by Dillon to get police off her trail included weaving in and out of traffic, driving down the hard shoulder and narrowly avoiding losing control of the car behind an HGV.

She eventually managed to lose the officer after coming off the M60 Eastbound near Manchester and jumping through red lights – but was located by another officer ten minutes later.

An unnamed boy was found without a seatbelt in a child’s booster seat in the rear of the vehicle as the 20-year-old was finally caught.

But Dillon insisted the child was not in the car while she had ‘nearly killed herself’ zooming down the motorway which led to her avoiding a prison sentence at court.

The judge made the call despite saying he suspected the child had been in the car but adding he couldn’t be sure.

This comes as Dillon claimed she had stopped to collect the youngster during the period officers lost sight of her.

At Warrington magistrates court, Dillon from Everton, Liverpool admitted dangerous driving and having no insurance or driving licence and was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months.

Deputy District Judge John Rowan who viewed dashcam footage of the chase said: ‘The position would be she would have to stop wherever the child was located and put the child in the car, a car she has just driven dangerously away from police in a pursuit in which she nearly killed herself.

‘I suspect that the child was in the car and if I was sure of that, I would be locking her up. However, I can’t be sure. Only she knows if the child was in the car. If the child was in the car, I hope that she has sleepless nights about it.’

He told Dillon: ‘I cannot sentence you on the basis of your two year old son being in the vehicle at the time of the offence, as much as I might suspect it. However, even if your son was not in that vehicle you put yourself and other road users at risk of serious injury and death.

‘I quite often have to sit before young people in the dock who have killed their friends, killed innocent people in vehicles, killed their children in vehicles. It happens all the time. You were lucky there was not an accident in this case.’

Prosecuting, Sarah McInerney had explained earlier: ‘At approximately 12.25pm on Tuesday July 2, attention is drawn to the defendant’s vehicle, a black BMW as it was uninsured. PC Crawford attempted to take her off the motorway at junction 11 but she failed to stop and a police pursuit ensued. On a number of occasions it was travelling at high speed through traffic and contravening more than one red light.’

The speed of Dillon’s car varied throughout the journey at one point reaching a high of 121mph.

She eventually took a slip road at 80mph following which the officer lost sight of her. The pursuit was terminated as officials feared it would be too dangerous. But the vehicle was then located by Greater Manchester Police officers on Trident Road in Irlam and Dillon was found sat in the driver’s seat.

The 20-year-old revealed she only had a provisional licence but was not supervised and had no L plates displayed. The child was found to be unrestrained in the rear of the car despite there being a car seat in the vehicle.

Miss McInerney added: ‘The CPS cannot say the child was in the vehicle at the time of the offence. Unbelievably no-one was hurt.’

In mitigation, Dillon’s lawyer Brian Jackson said: ‘There is no admissible evidence that the child was in the car at the time of the driving. The police officer who was chasing her lost the vehicle and there was no continuity for ten minutes before she was located. 

‘The police officer confirmed that he had no evidence that the child was in the car at the time of driving or a child seat was in the car at the time of driving.’

He added: ‘This situation arises out of panic from a difficult day that she was having and the expectation that the child and father would be at Manchester Airport late that afternoon. It is remarkable that a person without a driving licence could drive like she did. She had been given driving lessons in the past and that is the reason that she could manipulate the vehicle.

‘She is clearly traumatised by the whole situation. She has never been in trouble with the police and had never been in a police station. Ever since I have seen her she has been polite and upset about the situation she has found herself in.

‘She ended up panicking after her boyfriend was called at short notice for a medical appointment before she went off to Liverpool to pick up passports to take back to family and then go off to Manchester Airport. If it is an immediate custodial sentence, that is not going to do her any good and with respect it is not going to do society any good.’

Dillon was also ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work and was disqualified from driving for 18 months. She was made to pay £289 in costs and victim surcharge.