A teenage motorist who stole a vehicle and then crashed it into an ambulance responding to an emergency, injuring two paramedics, has been jailed at Woolwich Crown Court.
Kent Police report that on Friday 29 August 2025, Harry Foster-Smith was driving a Volkswagen Golf that he had taken without permission from London earlier that day.
That evening, officers were alerted to the vehicle travelling coast-bound on the M2 between junctions two and three and they began a pursuit but Foster-Smith refused to stop and reached speeds in excess of 100mph before leaving the motorway at junction four, where officers lost sight of the car.
The stolen vehicle collided with an ambulance on an emergency call at the roundabout connecting the slip road with the A278 Hoath Way near Gillingham shortly afterwards. Two paramedics inside the ambulance were taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries. Foster-Smith fled the scene but, with the help of Kent Police drone pilots, was located in nearby woodland by a police dog and its handler and arrested. He was also found to have a quantity of class B drugs on him when he was searched.
Foster-Smith, 19, from Bexleyheath, was charged with:
- Dangerous driving
- Causing serious injury by dangerous driving
- Using a motor vehicle on a road/public place without third-party insurance
- Possession of a class B drug
- Aggravated vehicle taking
- Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence
He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and, on Tuesday 2 December, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court to two year and eight months’ imprisonment. He also had his licence revoked for three years.
Investigating officer Police Constable Lily Woodham said:
‘Foster-Smith’s actions that day were an appalling act of recklessness and put lives at risk. I hope this sentence sends a clear message that such behaviour will not be tolerated and those who endanger others will face serious consequences.’