Mansfield man was high on drugs during high-speed police chase through Oak Tree estate

A Mansfield man who was high on cannabis and cocaine when he led police on a high-speed chase through Oak Tree estate has been sent to the crown court for sentence.
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Police spotted Aksels Kozlowski at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta with a defective near side brake light and discovered it was insured to a woman in Sutton, at 8.10pm on August 6, last year.

When they signalled for him to pull over the 24-year-old took off at speed and led them on a high-speed chase around Oak Tree estate, said prosecutor Alexis Mercer.

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He drove at double, and sometimes triple, the speed limit in the built-up residential area and reached a top speed of 90mph.

Mansfield Magistrates court, Rosemary Street.Mansfield Magistrates court, Rosemary Street.
Mansfield Magistrates court, Rosemary Street.

He overtook cars dangerously and at one point hit bollards before jumping out when he reached a dead-end on Newlands Drive where he was arrested.

The court heard he was driving with an expired driving licence.

And although almost no alcohol was found in his system, traces of cannabis and cocaine were.

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Kozlowski said he’d borrowed the car from his friend's partner and only had it for 30 minutes before the police signalled him to stop.

After viewing dashcam footage of the pursuit he accepted his driving was dangerous.

He admitted drinking a glass of vodka, taking a line of cocaine and smoking a joint at midday but said he “felt in control.”

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The court heard he was banned for 12 months for drug-driving in Lincolnshire in January 2022.

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At a previous hearing his defence solicitor said Kozlowski was “spending time with a group who had a poor influence on him” at the time, and “he panicked because he didn’t have a licence.”

"Had he stopped he would be facing a fine or penalty points,” his solicitor said. “Since then he has found work as a labourer and spends the majority of his free time with his daughter.”

Kozlowski, of Manor Road, Mansfield Woodhouse, admitted dangerous driving, driving under the influence of cannabis and cocaine, and driving without a licence or insurance, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, at a previous hearing.

On Tuesday, Magistrates decided the offences were too serious for their powers of sentence and committed the case to Nottingham crown court on May 21.