Dramatic police pictures from a cop car's CCTV show the moment a getaway driver diced with death.
Police were chasing 20-year-old Terence Fowler through the streets of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, on 20th June last year when they reached a level crossing with its barriers down, indicating that a train was coming.
But knowing that he would be caught if he had stopped, Fowler - who was driving a Mercedes C180 which he had stolen - put the lives of those on the train as well his own life at risk by crashing through the barriers.
As he leaves the destroyed barriers strewn across the road, police can be heard saying 'oh s***'
The officers were also heard saying 'he's done the crossing' before adding 'there's no way on earth we were going through that' before a 120 ton train comes zooming past at high speed, just seconds after Fowler crashed through the barriers.
Passengers reported feeling the carriages shudder as the train smashed into the barrier debris moments later. The Mercedes Fowler was driving was later found abandoned and he was eventually caught.
Fowler pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage, obstructing an engine or carriage using a railway and driving with no insurance.
He was sentence to three and a half years at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday. Judge Nic Madge said: 'It is hard to think of more dangerous driving which did not cause injury.'
Seconds from death: Getaway driver caught on film crashing through level-crossing barrier moments before 120-tonne train thunders through
By Daily Mail Reporter
15th April 2011
Daily Mail
As far as reckless crimes go, this car thief takes some beating.
Terence Fowler, 20, lead police on a 90 mph chase before ploughing his car through the barriers of a level crossing - moments before a 120-tonne passenger train flew past.
Police can be heard saying 'oh s***' as Fowler crashes his way through the barriers - leaving them strewn across the road - and narrowly avoids almost certain death.
Dangerous move: The car thief risks his life by ploughing through the barriers
Dramatic CCTV from the police car captured the two officers saying 'he's done the crossing' before adding 'there's no way on earth we were going through that'.
One officer can be heard saying 'Christ' as the train passes by at high speed a matter of seconds later.
Fowler had stolen a red Mercedes C180 from outside a home in Cambridgeshire on the morning of June 20 last year.
Reckless: Car thief Terence Fowler who smashed through a railway crossing, putting hundreds of passengers' lives at risk, has been jailed
The stolen car triggered an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera and police attempted to pull the car thief over on a bridge.
Fowler, from March, Cambridgeshire, refused to pull over and a pursuit ensued through Stanground to Whittlesey at speeds of more than 90 mph.
During the pursuit, Fowler can be seen driving on the wrong side of the road, overtaking vehicles on roundabouts and knocking off another vehicle's wing mirror.
Police abandoned the pursuit because it was too dangerous and could only watch as he ploughed through the closed level crossing.
Passengers reported feeling the carriages shudder as the train smashed into the barrier debris moments later.
The vehicle was later found abandoned. Forensic tests discovered Fowler's blood on the smashed windscreen and he was traced through his DNA.
He was caught after being arrested in Bournemouth for an assault.
Fowler pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage, obstructing an engine or carriage using a railway and driving with no insurance.
He was sentence to three and a half years at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday. Judge Nic Madge said: 'It is hard to think of more dangerous driving which did not cause injury.
'You were extremely lucky. You were seconds away from a fatal collision with a train in which many people, including yourself, would have been killed or injured.
Police chase: Terence Fowler, 20, takes off in a stolen a red Mercedes C180
'In other words, if you had survived you were seconds away from a sentence of life imprisonment.
'I do not sentence you for what might have happened but for what you actually did. But I bear in mind it was a frightening experience for the train driver who saw the car flash across the level crossing moments in front of his train.'
No hesitation: The car approaches the closed level crossing with red warning lights flashing
The train driver's statement was read out in court. He said hitting debris on the line was 'frightening' because there was nothing he could do.
He slammed on the brakes - but it takes about 700 metres to stop a 120-tonne train and so it passed through the crossing.
The statement from the signalman was also read out. He said he could see the barriers on the line.
Wreckage: The police camera captured the driver taking off on the other side of the tracks
He said: 'The first thing that went through my mind was: ''The train is going to derail and there is nothing I can do.'' I was genuinely frightened for myself and the train.'
It cost £30,000 to repair the barriers and caused around eight hours of delays in the Peterborough area, costing the train company £5,232.
Fowler pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage and obstructing an engine, but only after he heard 'overwhelming' evidence against him.
Near miss: Moments later a train flies past showing just how close the driver came to losing his own life and harming many others
His lawyer Caroline Allison told the court he fully understood the danger he had put everyone in.
She said: 'I do not wish to detract from what is clearly a prolonged and very dangerous piece of driving.
'He does appreciate how scared people were and how serious these offences are.'
Detective Inspector Michael Branston, of Cambridgeshire Police, said: 'Fowler showed total disregard for other road users, pedestrians and rail passengers as he tried to evade being caught by police.
'His actions put many lives at risk and he was lucky not to have been killed himself.
'This case shows that no matter what lengths criminals will go to, justice will always catch up with them in the end.'
dailymail.co.uk
Police were chasing 20-year-old Terence Fowler through the streets of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, on 20th June last year when they reached a level crossing with its barriers down, indicating that a train was coming.
But knowing that he would be caught if he had stopped, Fowler - who was driving a Mercedes C180 which he had stolen - put the lives of those on the train as well his own life at risk by crashing through the barriers.
As he leaves the destroyed barriers strewn across the road, police can be heard saying 'oh s***'
The officers were also heard saying 'he's done the crossing' before adding 'there's no way on earth we were going through that' before a 120 ton train comes zooming past at high speed, just seconds after Fowler crashed through the barriers.
Passengers reported feeling the carriages shudder as the train smashed into the barrier debris moments later. The Mercedes Fowler was driving was later found abandoned and he was eventually caught.
Fowler pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage, obstructing an engine or carriage using a railway and driving with no insurance.
He was sentence to three and a half years at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday. Judge Nic Madge said: 'It is hard to think of more dangerous driving which did not cause injury.'
Seconds from death: Getaway driver caught on film crashing through level-crossing barrier moments before 120-tonne train thunders through
By Daily Mail Reporter
15th April 2011
Daily Mail
As far as reckless crimes go, this car thief takes some beating.
Terence Fowler, 20, lead police on a 90 mph chase before ploughing his car through the barriers of a level crossing - moments before a 120-tonne passenger train flew past.
Police can be heard saying 'oh s***' as Fowler crashes his way through the barriers - leaving them strewn across the road - and narrowly avoids almost certain death.
Dangerous move: The car thief risks his life by ploughing through the barriers
Dramatic CCTV from the police car captured the two officers saying 'he's done the crossing' before adding 'there's no way on earth we were going through that'.
One officer can be heard saying 'Christ' as the train passes by at high speed a matter of seconds later.
Fowler had stolen a red Mercedes C180 from outside a home in Cambridgeshire on the morning of June 20 last year.
Reckless: Car thief Terence Fowler who smashed through a railway crossing, putting hundreds of passengers' lives at risk, has been jailed
The stolen car triggered an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera and police attempted to pull the car thief over on a bridge.
Fowler, from March, Cambridgeshire, refused to pull over and a pursuit ensued through Stanground to Whittlesey at speeds of more than 90 mph.
During the pursuit, Fowler can be seen driving on the wrong side of the road, overtaking vehicles on roundabouts and knocking off another vehicle's wing mirror.
Police abandoned the pursuit because it was too dangerous and could only watch as he ploughed through the closed level crossing.
Passengers reported feeling the carriages shudder as the train smashed into the barrier debris moments later.
The vehicle was later found abandoned. Forensic tests discovered Fowler's blood on the smashed windscreen and he was traced through his DNA.
He was caught after being arrested in Bournemouth for an assault.
Fowler pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage, obstructing an engine or carriage using a railway and driving with no insurance.
He was sentence to three and a half years at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday. Judge Nic Madge said: 'It is hard to think of more dangerous driving which did not cause injury.
'You were extremely lucky. You were seconds away from a fatal collision with a train in which many people, including yourself, would have been killed or injured.
Police chase: Terence Fowler, 20, takes off in a stolen a red Mercedes C180
'In other words, if you had survived you were seconds away from a sentence of life imprisonment.
'I do not sentence you for what might have happened but for what you actually did. But I bear in mind it was a frightening experience for the train driver who saw the car flash across the level crossing moments in front of his train.'
No hesitation: The car approaches the closed level crossing with red warning lights flashing
The train driver's statement was read out in court. He said hitting debris on the line was 'frightening' because there was nothing he could do.
He slammed on the brakes - but it takes about 700 metres to stop a 120-tonne train and so it passed through the crossing.
The statement from the signalman was also read out. He said he could see the barriers on the line.
Wreckage: The police camera captured the driver taking off on the other side of the tracks
He said: 'The first thing that went through my mind was: ''The train is going to derail and there is nothing I can do.'' I was genuinely frightened for myself and the train.'
It cost £30,000 to repair the barriers and caused around eight hours of delays in the Peterborough area, costing the train company £5,232.
Fowler pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage and obstructing an engine, but only after he heard 'overwhelming' evidence against him.
Near miss: Moments later a train flies past showing just how close the driver came to losing his own life and harming many others
His lawyer Caroline Allison told the court he fully understood the danger he had put everyone in.
She said: 'I do not wish to detract from what is clearly a prolonged and very dangerous piece of driving.
'He does appreciate how scared people were and how serious these offences are.'
Detective Inspector Michael Branston, of Cambridgeshire Police, said: 'Fowler showed total disregard for other road users, pedestrians and rail passengers as he tried to evade being caught by police.
'His actions put many lives at risk and he was lucky not to have been killed himself.
'This case shows that no matter what lengths criminals will go to, justice will always catch up with them in the end.'
dailymail.co.uk