Mazyar Azarbonyad was freed early from a 14-month sentence after the crash which caused £250,000 worth of damage to police vehicles. He hit speeds of 120 mph while his first date begged him to stop. He has now been taken back into custody.
Mazyar Azarbonyad was sentenced to 14 months detention after he caused a “catastrophic collision” while on a first date(Image: PA)
The personal trainer who caused a major crash that left seven police officers in hospital was freed after just four months in a young offenders institution – but has now been taken back into custody.
Mazyar Azarbonyad received a 14-month sentence last June after the crash caused around £250,000 worth of damage to police vehicles.
During a police pursuit, he hit speeds of 120 mph while his first date, Courtney Redfern, begged him to stop before the horrific crash on the A1 near Newcastle at 2.30am on April 9 last year. He was released in October last year after serving four months of his sentence of his 14-month sentence. Police and probation services were monitoring him in the community.
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At the time, it seemed certain that there were police fatalities,” said a source close to the case. “Then he was being monitored in the community. It is a problem in high profile cases. There is a perception that early release means justice has not been served.”
Azarbonyad has just been recalled for breaching his bail conditions. He was freed for seven months on licence – but has now been taken back into custody. A Prison and Probation Service spokesperson said: “As this case shows, we do not hesitate to send offenders back to prison if they break the rules.”
Azarbonyad was released from a young offenders institution in October last year. He was supervised by the Probation Service and subject to strict conditions including where he could live and work.
He has been recalled to prison for breaching the conditions or ‘exhibiting behaviour suggesting they pose an increased risk to the public’.
Azarbonyad was taken back into custody earlier this month. in April, it emerged that Sycamore Gap vandal Adam Carruthers had also been released after serving 10 months of his four year and three month sentence. He has to wear a tag while on licence.
His co-accused Daniel Graham remains behind bars and is unlikely to be freed before January 2027.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that first date Courtney, of Gateshead, was begging Azarbonyad to stop as he reached speeds of 120 mph with the police cars in pursuit.
He then stopped suddenly, decelerating from 119 mph, while a police vehicle collided with the back of his vehicle. He was also banned from driving for three years. He was due to be sentenced last May but his case was adjourned for checks on his driving record.
Checks confirmed that he had eight points on his licence for driving without insurance after a 2024 conviction. It was a ‘miracle that no one was seriously injured’, Newcastle crown court heard.
Azarbonyad, then 20 years old, of Stanley, Co Durham, was said to be giving “the lady” a lift home in a “powerful” BMW 5 series when police tried to pull him over due a faulty brake light.
He admitted two counts of failing to stop, dangerous driving, having no insurance and no licence in relation to the smash on the A1.
The crash involved five police cars, four marked and one unmarked, and the BMW. Seven police officers were taken to hospital.
Azarbonyad, who came to the UK from Iran around five years ago, was arrested and made full admissions.
Shocking drone images of the crash scene show four damaged police cars on the scene, with pieces of vehicle strewn right across the carriageway, and the back of one of the vehicles involved in the crash by the central reservation. Two black cars were also involved in the crash, one a BMW, with one turned completely on its side.
