A 20-year-old personal trainer who led police on a high-speed chase during a first date has been sentenced to one year and two months in a young offenders’ institution.
Mazyar Azarbonyad, from Stanley, County Durham, triggered the pursuit in the early hours of 9 April after officers attempted to stop his powerful BMW due to its excessive speed and a defective headlight in the Whickham area of Gateshead.
Although Azarbonyad initially pulled over, he fled as the officer approached his vehicle, prompting a dangerous chase through residential streets.
The BMW was later spotted on Whickham Front Street, where it again sped away.
Specialist road policing officers pursued the vehicle, which reached speeds of over 120mph.
At 2.27am, just minutes after the chase resumed, Azarbonyad’s car collided with five police vehicles near the Denton Interchange exit in Newcastle.
Miraculously, neither Azarbonyad nor his female passenger—who was on a first date with him—was injured.
The woman, in her 20s, was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting dangerous driving but later faced no further action. She did, however, receive a caution for drug possession.
Azarbonyad was arrested days later after being spotted filling up a red Hyundai i10 at a garage in Stanley, having driven it from his home to work in Newcastle city centre.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, two counts of failing to stop, six counts of driving without insurance, and six counts of driving without a valid licence.
His solicitor, Jack Lovell, told the court he had shown “genuine remorse”.
At Newcastle Crown Court on Monday, Azarbonyad was handed a 14-month custodial sentence and disqualified from driving for three years and seven months.
He will also be required to pass an extended re-test before being allowed to drive again.
Superintendent Billy Mulligan of Northumbria Police described Azarbonyad’s actions as “reckless in the extreme” and said it was “sheer luck” no lives were lost.
He praised the bravery of the officers involved and confirmed that while three had returned to duty, four others remain off work due to injuries.
