Police helicopter footage captured the moment a stolen Land Rover ploughed through a field of 6ft-high maize to try to evade officers, before returning to the road and causing a fatal crash. Marcin Jablonski, who was driving the stolen vehicle, was over the legal drink-driving limit when he smashed into a Nissan Juke on the A143 at Earsham, Norfolk police said. The driver of the Nissan, 28-year-old Aisatou Mballow-Baldeh, died at the scene on 13 August last year. Jablonski, 44, and his 26-year-old son, Thomaz Urbaniak, who was a passenger in the vehicle, were both jailed over their roles in the incident at Norwich crown court on Monday, Norfolk police said. In footage from the National Police Air Service, an unmarked police vehicle tries to stop the Land Rover before two marked units arrive and the Land Rover drives off into a field, flattening crops as it goes. “It’s a fail to stop, he’s bullied his way around the unmarked,” an officer says over the radio, communicating to units on the ground. “He’s pushing forward, he’s into the crops. I suggest you don’t follow him through this field as he’s got better capability than you have, I think.” When the Land Rover re-emerges on to the A143, the officer says: “It’s not high speed, I think he may have taken some damage, it’s quite slow.” The officer adds: “He’s on to the grass, I think he’s got steering problems,” before the stolen Land Rover starts to weave across the centre line of the road and then veers into the path of the oncoming Nissan. “Crash, crash, crash, can we have an ambulance please,” the officer says. Jablonski, of Carlton Colville, Suffolk, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing death by dangerous driving, Norfolk police said. He also admitted causing death while driving without insurance and while disqualified, aggravated vehicle-taking and criminal damage. He was jailed for 11 years over the incident, plus a further year for an unrelated previous offence for which he originally received a suspended sentence, the force said. He was banned from driving for 13 years. Urbaniak, of Newmarket, Suffolk, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to aggravated vehicle-taking and burglary. He was jailed for two years and banned from driving for two years, Norfolk police said. The force said the stolen Land Rover Defender had failed to stop for police earlier in the day and was being pursued by police and the National Police Air Service along the A143 before the fatal collision. Analysis of Jablonski’s urine showed he was over the legal drink-driving limit, with a range of between 273 and 461 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine. The legal drink-driving limit is 107 milligrams. During the investigation, detectives discovered that the keys to the Land Rover had been stolen during a burglary at a flooring business in Newmarket in the early hours of 11 August, together with jewellery, handbags, alcohol and a computer terminal. An examination of the Land Rover found the vehicle had sustained extensive damage before the collision. It was so significant that it led to a catastrophic failure of the vehicle’s offside front steering and inbuilt computer. DI David McCormack of Norfolk police, who led the investigation, said: “It’s impossible to put into words the truly awful impact of this tragedy, and our thoughts remain with Mrs Mballow-Baldeh’s husband, family and friends.” The incident was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, as is standard procedure, which is carrying out an independent investigation.
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