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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| No jail term for '173mph' driver | No jail term for '173mph' driver |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A motorist allegedly clocked at 173mph (278km/h) by police has avoided a jail term after prosecutors failed to prove his car was capable of such a speed. | |
| Police caught Tex O'Reilly, 36, from Canal Bridge, Willington, speeding on the A515 in Derbyshire. | Police caught Tex O'Reilly, 36, from Canal Bridge, Willington, speeding on the A515 in Derbyshire. |
| At Derby Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after travelling in his Lotus Elise at 105mph (169km/h) in a 50mph zone in July 2008. | |
| O'Reilly was fined £5,000 and given a two-year driving ban. | |
| Lotus sold | Lotus sold |
| Prosecutors insisted the officers' speed recording device was reliable. | Prosecutors insisted the officers' speed recording device was reliable. |
| But defence lawyers successfully argued O'Reilly's car, which was unmodified, was not able to reach 173mph after Lotus confirmed the car had a top limit of only 127mph (204km/h). | |
| Handing O'Reilly his fine and ban, Judge Andrew Hamilton said: "May I make it absolutely clear that had you been driving at 150mph (241km/h) you would have been going immediately to prison. | |
| "However you were not driving at 150mph, you were driving at 105mph and, for whatever reason, the prosecution have accepted that basis of plea and that puts the case in a different light." | "However you were not driving at 150mph, you were driving at 105mph and, for whatever reason, the prosecution have accepted that basis of plea and that puts the case in a different light." |
| Speaking outside court, O'Reilly said: "I accept my ban...I knew I was going to get banned. I take full responsibility for it. | |
| "The fine's stung me a bit in the pocket but I'll pay that off by the date they've told me." | "The fine's stung me a bit in the pocket but I'll pay that off by the date they've told me." |
| He added he had since sold the Lotus and his current car, a Ferrari, would be put into storage for the duration of his driving ban. | He added he had since sold the Lotus and his current car, a Ferrari, would be put into storage for the duration of his driving ban. |
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| 173 mph would have been the fastest ever recorded speed on a British road | 173 mph would have been the fastest ever recorded speed on a British road |