A motorist who crashed into a police car following a 100mph motorway chase with a baby unfastened in the back seat has been jailed for 26 months.
Wayne Smith ploughed his black Ford Focus into a police vehicle on the M5 in a smash which closed the motorway for ten hours on August 5 last year.
A court heard the 27-year-old sped at over 100mph before undertaking a lorry, swerving along the hard shoulder and colliding with a police BMW X5 near Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset.
A young child, who was sat on the back seat in a dirty nappy and without a seatbelt, was rescued unharmed from Smith's vehicle and taken to hospital as a precaution.
PC Jason Smith, who was in the BMW which flipped several times due to the impact of the collision, sustained head injuries and suffered post traumatic stress.
The motorway ground to a halt after the smash between J21 and J19, just before 10pm, before it eventually reopened at 8am the following day.
Smith was convicted of battery, causing actual bodily harm, cruelty to a child and dangerous driving following a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Today he was jailed for 26 months and banned from driving for three years, after which he will have to undertake an extended retest.
The court was told Smith, of Tamworth, Staffordshire had taken the child from her mother before embarking on 120 miles journey south with the youngster in his car.
Sentencing, Judge Barry Berlin said: "In my view my sentence must result in custody.
"On August 4, 2019 at about half past 12 in the afternoon the defendant entered the complainant's house.
"He snatched her phone from her and threw her against the floor - that is count two of battery.
"He sent a text and Whatsapp message to her boss at 2.30pm pretending to be her saying she would not be coming to work at 3pm.
"He put the child into his black Ford Focus and headed on the motorway to the south west.
"This was a callous and reckless act which was typical of his behaviour.
"After the police found suicide notes on his laptop they suspected he was in an unstable emotional state.
"He knew the police were looking for him from the text messages they sent him."
The judge also drew the court's attention to Smith's dangerous driving.
"Now we get to the dangerous driving," he said.
"The child was left in harm while you swerved through traffic with her on the back seat.
"Police officers saw you near junction 2 at speeds of over 100 miles per hour.
"The four officers formed a box of four cars to try to stop you undertook a lorry and went onto the hard shoulder.
"You rammed an X5 police car that turned over many times.
"I accept you did not do that as a deliberate attempt to injure the officer, but PC Jason Smith was injured in the collision and has PTSD."
Judge Berlin also lambasted the defendant for leaving the child unsecured and with her nappy unchanged.
"The child was not secured in the back seat," he continued.
"She was not injured but had marks on her genitalia and rashes to her back from sitting in her urine and faeces in old nappies and then baby wipes.
"I find this to be high culpability child cruelty due to the location of the offence and the timing.
"As to count four of dangerous driving, this was a police chase at speeds of at least 90 mph during which you undertook a lorry and swerved onto the hard shoulder before crashing.
"Although the prosecution case for premeditation was not made out in evidence, you put the lives of yourself and the baby at risk.
"There will be 16 months in prison and that will be consecutive to the two months for battery.
"For child cruelty in my view there is high culpability. You wholly disregarded the child when you would not stop for the police and put her at high risk.
"Mr Smith you are an intelligent man who tried to use this intelligence to put the blame on others.
"I'm going to make that consecutive and I think that is merciful. That adds up to 26 months and you will serve half of that in custody.
"You will be disqualified from driving for three years, on release you will be required to take a further driving test."
Paul Cliff, defending, said: "He is an intelligent young man.
"He has a masters degree in physics and is hard-working, focused and conscientious according to most of the colleagues he worked with prior to his remand.
"He has logged over 400 hours of unpaid work with wildlife charities. Prior to this matter he has no previous convictions.
"For a young man of his background a criminal record will have ongoing implications for his work.
"There have been very severe consequences for this young man who has been since August last year, one of the most stressful times to have to spend in detention."
