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Police chase stolen BMW in four-minute pursuit before car smashes into care home

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High-speed police chase ends with BMW causing multiple injuries after smashing through care home

Dashcam footage shows a high-speed police chase ending with a stolen car smashing through the walls of a care home in Sunderland.

Northumbria Police officers pursued the BMW, stolen during a test drive in Newcastle, for four minutes as it drove at speeds of up to 100mph before it collided into Highcliffe Care Home in Witherwack on 10 July, 2025, injuring several elderly residents.

On Wednesday (14 January), the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IPOC) ruled that the officers, who had driven at speeds of over 90mph, had behaved in an “exemplary” manner and “maintained a safe distance at all times”.

The driver, Sam Asgari-Tabar, 21, was jailed for five years and two months at Newcastle Crown Court in November after pleading guilty to robbery and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Reece Parish, 21, of Fordham Road, Sunderland, was jailed for 19 months after pleading guilty to robbery.

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