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- A teenage motorcyclist was charged with faking his own crash, tying up emergency services and snarling traffic, after CCTV footage caught him setting the whole thing up.
- The motorcyclist’s fake crash resulted in all three emergency services, fire, police, and medical, all responding to the scene.
- More crime news here.
A teenage motorcyclist was arrested after faking a crash in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England after CCTV footage showed him slowly setting up the entire scene.
Emergency services were alerted to the “incident” when a passing motorist found him lying on the ground underneath his motorcycle in the middle of the road.
Police, ambulance and fire service all responded and the road was closed so the teen could be treated and taken to a local hospital after reportedly complaining about a loss of feeling in his legs and/or the right side of his body.
The unnamed 19-year-old motorcyclist also appeared to slip in and out of consciousness as he was being treated by EMTs.
In the CCTV footage, he can be seen slowly wheel his motorcycle into the middle of the road, lowering it to the ground, then lying underneath it. Two minutes later a car stops, someone gets out to check on him, then phones for help.
After being confronted with the damning CCTV evidence, the motorcyclist admitted that he had faked the crash.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin said about the incident, “Every hoax or inappropriate call our emergency call handlers receive has the potential to delay us from responding to genuine emergencies and put someone else’s life in danger.
“If we attend a hoax call, it means we’re not available when someone really needs our help. It could be a matter of life or death. Hoax calls can be traced and callers run the risk of a heavy fine and even a prison sentence.
“All we ask is that people only call 999 in genuine emergencies and remember that there are other ways to contact us for less urgent inquiries, with the Nottinghamshire Police website offering advice on hundreds of policing and non-policing issues and the 101 non-emergency number also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Gareth James of the Nottinghamshire Police stated, “This was perceived as a very serious incident when reported and has wasted hours of staff hours across three agencies. The seriousness of his actions should not be underestimated.
“This could have resulted in delayed responses to those actually in need and could have had severe consequences for those requiring urgent assistance. Not only that but due to the teenager lying down in the middle of the road, he could have easily been hit by another vehicle causing danger to himself.”
James added, “It is right that he was prosecuted for wasting emergency services time. He received a fixed penalty notice which has now been paid.”