A teenager who drove a stolen car the wrong way through London’s Blackwall Tunnel and collided with a van head-on has been jailed.
Johal Rathour, 18, from Grays in Essex was sentenced to four years for what police described as an “incredibly dangerous piece of driving”.
CCTV footage shows the teen swerving through the south London tunnel, which connects the London boroughs of Greenwich and Tower Hamlet, in the early hours of the morning in August last year.
Rathour crashed into a Mercedes van causing £80,000 worth of damage and closing the tunnel for two hours, racking up a big bill for Transport for London.
The teen ran away but was arrested a short time later after officers forensically identified him and tracked his mobile phone.
No one was seriously hurt in the crash..
“Rathour was guilty of an incredibly dangerous piece of driving and it was a miracle that nobody was seriously injured,” said Police Constable Adam Lamb.
“Watching the video of him driving the wrong way through the tunnel is very distressing as it seems inevitable that a fatal collision would happen.
“As well as the damage to the stolen vehicle and the van he collided with, Rathour also disrupted and delayed the journeys of thousands of people using Blackwell Tunnel on the day of the crash.
“I am glad that he has faced justice for his actions and will not be able to drive on the roads of London for many years,” he added.
