A drunk driver was caught speeding down the M40 at 100 miles per hour with a young child also in the vehicle.
Miley Connors, 37, from Hambrook in West Sussex, received a two-year suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court.
Connors, who was also sentenced for child neglect, was also disqualified from driving for two years and will need to pass an extended retest to get his licence back.
He will have to complete 250 hours of unpaid work, 120 days of alcohol monitoring and an accredited thinking skills programme within 20 days.
Police received numerous calls at around 4.10pm on December 29, 2021, about a silver SUV going down the hard shoulder
THAMES VALLEY POLICE
Miley Connors, 37, from Hambrook in West Sussex, received a two-year suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court
THAMES VALLEY POLICE
Connors is also expected to cough up £3,000 in a fine and costs.
Police received numerous calls at around 4.10pm on December 29, 2021, about a silver SUV going down the hard shoulder of the southbound carriageway of the M40 at over 100 miles per hour and swerving in between traffic.
The vehicle hit the central reservation on the Shabbington bend between junctions nine and 8A.
Connors carried on driving before exiting the vehicle to start urinating.
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Officers, who were assisted by the National Police Air Service, searched for Connors and the child
THAMES VALLEY POLICE
A child was spotted exiting the car before running away up by the embankment.
Officers, who were assisted by the National Police Air Service, searched for Connors and the child.
The pair were located nearby, with officers arresting Connors and safeguarded the child.
Connors was charged by Thames Valley Police the following day.
The vehicle hurtled towards the barrier
THAMES VALLEY POLICE
Investigating officer PC Amy Boughton described the incident as 'gut-wrenching'
THAMES VALLEY POLICE
Investigating officer PC Amy Boughton, of the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit, said: “This was one of the worse pieces of driving I have ever seen.
“Not only is it shocking to watch, it’s gut-wrenching to know there was a young child in that vehicle, scared and crying.
“The child was found wet, muddy and cold, and stood over Miley Connors, who was throwing up and incapable of looking after them.
“I can only hope that Connors take this second chance and makes recompense for the lives he could have so easily taken because of his reckless actions.”