Personal trainer who injured seven police officers in huge A1 pile-up while on first date jailed

2 June 2025, 12:09 | Updated: 2 June 2025, 12:38

A personal trainer who caused a 120mph "catastrophic collision" which led to "regional traffic chaos" when he failed to stop for police while on a first date has been sentenced to 14 months' detention.

Mazyar Azarbonyad, 20, was sentenced today to 14 months in a young offenders' unit.

Azarbonyad - who was on a first date at the time - sped away from officers, nearing speeds of 120 mph, and crashed on the A1 near Newcastle on April 9.

Seven officers were injured and five police cars were damaged.

Sentencing him at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday, Judge Tim Gittins said: "It is nothing short of a miracle that no one was more seriously injured or that there were not multiple fatalities."

Judge Gittins said: "It led to regional traffic chaos, misery for many travellers, not to mention the substantial loss of work and study hours for those that were caught up in the aftermath of what you caused."

One officer suffered soft tissue damage to her knee and nerve damage to her back, requiring her to remain in hospital for three days, and another needed stitches for a cut to his forehead, the court heard.

He was spotted by police on Swalwell Bank in Gateshead at 1.50am, driving at speed with a defective headlight in a dark grey BMW.

When police vehicles moved in to contain the car, Azarbonyad braked harshly in the middle of the four-lane carriageway, going from 119 mph to 0mph in an emergency stop and causing a multiple-vehicle pile-up, the court heard.

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The court heard Azarbonyad, who arrived in the UK after fleeing his home country of Iran when he was 14, was driving passenger Courtney Redfern home in a BMW X5 when he was seen by a police officer driving over the speed limit and with defective rear lights.

The court heard his date pleaded for him to stop driving.

Redfern, in her 20s, is on bail pending further inquiries into the suspected possession of Class A and B drugs.

Azarbonyad previously admitted to dangerous driving and driving again following the crash despite being handed an interim ban.

In the days that followed his release on bail he continued to drive to the gym where he worked, before he was arrested at a petrol station.

Police vehicles badly damaged in major collision which shut the A1

He had bought the vehicle on finance despite having a provisional driving licence, no insurance and later admitting to officers he had paid for only three driving lessons previously.

The judge said: "You should have been nowhere near the driving seat of any vehicle that night, let alone one such as a BMW X5, a large and powerful SUV."

The defendant, who had been stopped for driving without a licence and with no insurance in 2023, initially pulled over for police but when an officer approached his car on foot he said "nah" and made off at speed, according to his passenger.

Penny Hall, defending, said Azarbonyad claimed Ms Redfern told him she had drugs on her and he "panicked".

Judge Gittins said: "Whether or not you were made aware of the small amount of cannabis in her possession I am satisfied you made a deliberate decision to make off substantially because of your unlawful driving position."

Azarbonyad was spotted by police in the area again about 30 minutes later and failed to stop for a second time, nearly losing control on a bend and hitting a kerb as he accelerated onto the A1, where the judge said his speed reached a "hair-raising level" of over 120 mph.

Jolyon Perks, prosecuting, said his passenger told him several times to stop.

He said: "In her opinion, she thought he could have killed someone."

He already had eight points on his licence from two previous convictions in September 2023, the court heard.

Mr Perks said: "A number of these officers were trapped in vehicles. There were liquids involved, thankfully not petrol. A number of officers were rendered unconscious. It was clearly a very traumatic incident."

When Azarbonyad was interviewed he described his driving as "s**t", but did not accept he braked harshly and said the police chasing him were travelling too fast, Mr Perks told the court.