A personal trainer has admitted dangerous driving after causing a major crash that left seven police officers hurt while taking a woman home from their first date.
Mazyar Azarbonyad, 20, appeared at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court this morning over the horror smash on the northbound A1 in the early hours of April 9.
He pleaded guilty to a series of driving offences, including driving without insurance and a licence several times after the horrific crash.
The Iran-born defendant, who came to the UK in around 2020, was behind the wheel of a powerful BMW which was being pursued by police along the A1 near the Gateshead and Newcastle border.
Magistrates were told that a woman in the car with Azarbonyad at the time was on her first date with him and he was taking her home.
He admitted dangerous driving and failing to stop on that night.
Having been granted bail pending a court appearance, he admitted continuing to drive on four further occasions, by driving a Hyundai i10 to work at a gym in Newcastle city centre, despite bail conditions telling him not to drive.
The crash happened near the Derwent Haugh Road junction, on the borders of Gateshead and Newcastle, at 2.27am on April 9.
Police said seven officers were taken to hospital with what it described as non-life threatening injuries. They have all since been discharged.
A spokesman said officers attempted to stop a dark grey BMW M Sport in the Whickham area of Gateshead at about 2am, because of concerns about the way it was being driven.
The car drove off and was later seen in the Swalwell area.
He said specialist officers from the roads policing unit got behind the car at 2.25am and a pursuit was authorised.
Images from the scene showed four marked police vehicles badly damaged, a car on its side, and debris scattered across the carriageway.
One of the police vehicles had its roof torn off.
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