A DANGEROUS driver who lied to police after a motorway crash was arrested when a passenger handed police a video showing him driving at 100mph.

Abdul Jabbar had no insurance and was so desperate not to be caught that, after smashing into the central reservation of the M61at Farnworth, he climbed into the rear seat of the car and told officers who arrived on scene that the driver had run off.

But Bolton Crown Court heard that rear seat passenger Charlotte Hodkinson, who was trapped and had to be freed by the fire service, had been filming on her phone moments before the crash.

The footage showed 23-year-old Jabbar hurtling along the carriageway at 100mph.

Kimberley Obrusik, prosecuting, told how emergency services were called to the southbound carriageway of the M61 at 15pm on January 21 where a Mercedes GLA, carrying the driver and three passengers, had crashed. All three lanes of the carriageway had to be closed.

"The weather conditions were extremely poor on that day due to Storm Christoph. There was heavy rain, the roads were slippery and there was a significant amount of surface water," said Miss Obrusik.

She told how Jabbar and his girlfriend, front seat passenger Nicole Wilson ,were out of the car when police arrived, as was rear seat passenger George McCarthy-McGinnis. But Charlotte Hodkinson was still in the car with her legs trapped and firefighters had to take the door off to free her.

Jabbar and Miss Wilson told officers that the driver, who they did not know, had run from the scene.

Jabbar, of Bowness Road, Little Lever, and Miss Wilson were allowed to go home by taxi but Miss Hodkinson, as she was put into an ambulance, told police that Jabbar had been driving.

"Just prior to the collision Miss Hodkinson had been videoing what was occurring in the vehicle - not for anything than to show that her and her partner were enjoying the speed the defendant was driving," said Miss Obrusik.

"It showed they were not wearing any seatbelts. It also zoomed in on the speedometer which showed the defendant reaching 100mph before losing control."

She said that afterwards Jabbar climbed into the back of the car to try and make it look like he was a passenger and tried to hand the keys to Mr McCarthy-McGinnis, admitting that he was not insured.

When police questioned Jabbar again he admitted he had been driving and said he had panicked after the crash because he knew he was uninsured.

Jabbar, who represented himself in court, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, obstructing a police officer and having no insurance.

He told Recorder Ciaran Rankin that he now has a 45 minute walk to work at the Amazon depot.

"I want to let you know that it has given me time to reflect on what's happened. I want to apologise for what I have done," he said.

Jabbar was handed an 18-month community sentence during which he will have to undertake 120 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities.

He was banned from driving for 12 months after which he will have to take an retest.

Recorder Rankin told Jabbar: "It was effectively through sheer good luck that someone wasn't injured more seriously or, in fact, killed.

"It seems to me this was a case of bravado and perhaps thrill-seeking on your behalf, perhaps reflecting some degree of lack of maturity."

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