A drug driver who wreaked havoc when he tried to 'dust' police in a dramatic car chase has been jailed. Tony McDonough, 37, left a trail of destruction around Exeter when he raced away from police officers in a Kia Sportage.
McDonough crashed into three cars - including one carrying a 19-month-old toddler - as he raced through residential neighbourhoods, taking on more damage as he went. He pushed through traffic, overtook on the wrong side and when the vehicle was no longer driveable after the final collision McDonough tried to escape on foot.
He was soon caught and he boasted to police: "If I hadn't have hit that car I would have dusted you lot."
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The incident began at 10.30am on October 15, when a police officer noticed McDonough, who was banned from driving, in a parking area behind the wheel of the Kia. As he went to talk to him McDonough put his foot down, first hitting a wall and then an unmarked police vehicle as he left and headed to Blackboy Road.
He drove the Kia, which had a clearly damaged front end, at speed along Mount Pleasant Road and Prince Charles Road. Police gave chase and members of the public pointed them in the direction of the speeding car.
The Kia pushed its way through traffic on Beacon Lane and collided with a second vehicle driven by a man who had his 19-month-old son as a passenger. McDonough hit the passenger side of the oncoming car. His front bumper fell off but he did not stop.
Police decided to call off the chase due to the danger posed by McDonough's high-speed driving in a residential area.
McDonough then drove by shops in Whipton and onto Pinhoe Road before smashing into a car on Vaughan Road. The driver, his wife and one of the two children on board suffered whiplash and some physical injuries. Their car was a write-off. McDonough and his passenger were seen to flee but were caught a short time later by police. McDonough tested above the limit for cocaine.
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The defendant, of Heavitree Road, has 39 previous crimes to his name, mostly for dishonesty. He was banned from driving in 2022 for being unfit through drugs.
Rachel Smith, defending, said McDonough had panicked when he saw police. He suffers from ADHD but there was no medication available at the time due to a "national shortage". She said he was a "complex individual" who had suffered "catastrophic levels of trauma" in his life.
She said both his parents were drug addicts, he was given his first drugs at just nine-years-old and was expelled from school. Within a three-year period in his youth, his father went to prison and took his own life. His mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's and took her own life. In 2007 his brother attempted suicide and landed at his feet after jumping from a viaduct. His best friend was then killed in a car crash while in the seat next to him.
Miss Smith said he takes drugs to cope with the unresolved trauma, adding that he is making efforts to make better decisions and stay away from drug users in town. Probation said McDonough is currently not suitable for a drug rehabilitation programme.
Judge David Evans said blaming a shortage of medication for his behaviour was undermined by the fact that he had taken cocaine and made a decision to drive his partner's car when banned.
"The three offences combined and with all of the aggravating factors mean it is simply too serious for anything other than immediate custody."
McDonough was jailed for nine months after admitting dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance.
