An “idiotic” driver who decided to use a rail track as a road was caught after police found his mobile phone in the car he had abandoned.
Aaron O’Halloran drove along the track between Duddeston and Aston – one of the main rail commuter routes out Birmingham city centre, the UK’s second biggest city.
He turned on to the railway line on May 9 at 7.30am when the morning rush hour is starting and the line is usually busy with commuter trains.
O’Halloran was sentenced to 15 months in jail after pleading guilty to endangering people on the railway, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving a vehicle without insurance.
He was disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £156 at Birmingham Crown Court.
It is not clear why O’Halloran, of Handsworth, Birmingham, took the rail route but Duddeston is a short distance from his home.
A video clip shared by British Transport Police showed the Mitsubishi, front number plate hanging loose, driving along railway tracks and past a station platform.
“This was an immensely dangerous and senseless act by O’Halloran, which caused significant risk to passengers and damage to the railway,” Det Insp Raymond Ascott said.
“The sentence handed to him reflects the severity of this crime and we are thankful no one was injured as a result of O’Halloran’s alarming behaviour.
“He’ll now have plenty of time to reflect on his idiotic actions in prison.”
The drive caused more than £23,000 worth of damage, BTP said.
O’Halloran drove his black Mitsubishi through a gate at Duddeston and travelled 1 kilometre down the railway tracks towards Aston.
In police interview, he denied he was the person driving the vehicle when shown CCTV footage and refused to comment on why he had done it.
BTP said the car was abandoned across the tracks and O’Halloran fled the scene.
A mobile phone found by officers inside the car was traced back to O'Halloran.
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
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- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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