Man jailed for four years after crashing into police motorcyclist

A man has today been jailed for ramming a police motorcyclist with a car.

Marvin Geddes, 33, of Epping Close, Southampton, appeared at Southampton Crown Court today (10 January) to be sentenced following the collision.

The court heard that officers had attempted to stop a Honda Civic with suspected cloned plates after it was spotted on Wimpson Lane, Southampton, at around 9.20pm on 2 July 2024.

A short pursuit followed where the Honda was driven in an extremely dangerous manner, including going the wrong way around a roundabout, driving on the wrong side of the road, and driving through a red light.

PC Derek Hearn, a motorcyclist with the Roads Policing team, was involved in the pursuit of the Honda and was hit by the vehicle on Lords Hill Centre East.

Shocking dash cam footage from PC Hearn's police motorcycle showed the Honda driver crashing into the officer at speed.

The court heard Geddes did not stay at the scene and sped off towards Lords Hill Centre West, where he was then involved in a collision with a Peugeot 108.

Geddes then abandoned his Honda and fled the scene on foot.

The Honda was later confirmed to have been stolen from an address in Roberts Road, Southampton, on 26 March 2023.

Today at Southampton Crown Court, Geddes was handed a 48-month sentence after previously pleading guilty to cause actual bodily harm, dangerous driving and driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

PC Hearn said: “I feel lucky that I haven’t lost a limb or even my life from this incident.

“As a police officer I pride myself on doing my job to the best of my ability to safeguard the public. I do not accept that my life should be put in danger because of that.”

Superintendent Mark Lewis said: "This is a stark reminder of the dangers our officers sometimes face while simply doing their jobs.

"I was absolutely appalled when I saw the footage of this incident. No police officer should ever have to deal with such extreme violence towards them.

"The fact PC Hearn and the driver of the Peugeot were not seriously injured is extremely lucky, considering the severe level of complete disregard Geddes showed to them."