April 22, 2025
The young man later drove again despite a ban from driving as part of his bail conditions
A 20-year-old British man may not be getting a second date after his first one ended in a serious high-speed police chase.
On April 9, Mazyar Azarbonyad was dropping his date off after their night out when police officers in Northern England tried to stop him over a broken taillight.
Instead of pulling over, Azarbonyad took off in his BMW, beginning a high-speed chase through the Tyneside area.
The chase ended in a near-fatal crash involving five police vehicles around 2:30 a.m. local time. BBC News confirmed that an unmarked police car collided with Azarbonyad’s near-stopped vehicle at 80 mph. Another police car reportedly had its roof torn off. Seven officers were injured.
In court, Azarbonyad, a personal trainer, said he took off because he did not have insurance at the time of the incident and the woman with him had cannabis. In England, cannabis is illegal for recreational use.
Despite being banned to drive following the crash, Azarbonyad admitted to getting behind the wheel again days later. The man, who immigrated from Iran at age 15, also drove unlicensed as well.
The ban from driving was part of his bail conditions following the police chase and subsequent crash. Since Azarbonyad willfully ignored the stipulations of his release, police arrested him again.
His attorney, Jack Lovell, said Azarbonyad, who pleaded guilty, had genuine remorse for his “very foolish” actions and that his client was panicked when police approached him during the stop.
“I am not in any way trying to excuse—he should not have been driving the vehicle; it is his driving that has led to the incident on the A1 [road],” Lovell said.
However, prosecutors refused to hear claims of Azarbonyad’s regrets, especially as he continued driving after the ordeal.
Prosecutor Simon Worthy said, “One would have thought as a matter of common sense…that you would have been a bit more sensible about your activities, having been so lucky to get out of an accident only two days before…But no, no, you continue to stick two fingers up.”
Azarbonyad was granted conditional bail for this recent instance and will be sentenced on May 20.
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