Man who drove ‘like something out of a video game’ with three tires has been convicted

A man who drove ‘like something out of a video game’ has avoided an immediate jail sentence. Patrick Puszkin made a dangerous pass, knocking off the outside mirror of another car, before mounting the curb and then setting off with a flat tyre.

The woman whose car he hit chased after Puszkin as he drove away from the scene with smoke pouring from the flat tire. She had him pull over at a rest area, but he told her to “go” and drove home, again followed by the woman.

Leicestershire Police were called and Puszkin, 34, was arrested. He later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.

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He was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Friday for the incident, which happened at around 12.30pm on Friday, June 21 last year. Prosecutor Lauren Butts told the court another motorist contacted police after seeing Puszkin driving “erratically” along the B6047, just north of Market Harborough.

The court was told that another witness, the woman who followed Puszkin after his crash, later heard Puszkin’s Vauxhall Astra speeding up behind her on the same road further north towards Melton. Mrs Butts said: “The car was attempting to overtake in a dangerous manner. There was no place to do it safely.”

As he shot past the woman, Puszkin’s Astra struck her vehicle, knocking off the exterior mirror and shattering the door. As he swerved back into the lane, he mounted the grass verge with the two left wheels and then bounced back onto the road with a flat tire.

Ms Butts said: “She described it as something out of a video game.” The woman followed Puszkin through the village of Old Dalby, smoke billowing from the car, which only had three working tires.

She managed to get Puszkin to stop at a rest area and told him what had happened to her car and that one of his tires had gone flat. Ms Butts said: “He told him to go, got back into his car and kept driving, leaving marks on the road.”

The woman continued to follow him back to his home in Avon Road, Melton, where she called the police. When Puszkin was arrested, he told police the woman was confused because of her age.

The court heard that Puszkin was banned from driving in 2017 after failing to provide a specimen after being suspected of drink-driving.

Fergus Malone, representing Puszkin, told the court: “It was stupid of him not to stop at the scene. He’s a genuine guy, he cares about other people and so on. He would fight in prison. It is unlikely to return. it offends.”

Sentencing Puszkin, Recorder Adrian Jack told him the starting point for the sentence for his offense was 18 months behind bars, but that after deducting a third for Puszkin’s guilty plea, he could suspend the sentence . Puszkin received a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years. He will have to do various courses with the probation service.

He was also banned from driving for three years. When the period ends in May 2027, he will have to complete and extend his retest before he can drive again.