Faces of 10 drivers who should never have got behind the wheel

Their actions caused misery on our roads and left families picking up the pieces

19:00, 25 Jan 2025Updated 22:13, 25 Jan 2025

As a dangerous driver was jailed this week for causing serious, life-long injuries to a three-week-old baby,[1] we look back on other drivers who should never have gotten behind the wheel. Daniel Halliwell, 35, became the latest in a long list of drivers[2] whose reckless actions have resulted in devastation for victims and their families.

Halliwell, of Harvey Avenue, Earlestown, St Helens[3], had been "showing off" his Ferrari 812 GTS to his friend after asking him if he "wanted a spin" at around 5pm on July 21, 2023. Meanwhile, a female driver in a Ford Fiesta was joining the carriageway from Manor Park Avenue with her baby boy in the back seat.

HGV dashcam footage of the crash,[4] shared by Cheshire police, showed a black BMW moving into the right hand lane to allow the mum to enter the dual carriageway. Seconds later, Halliwell, who is believed to have been driving between 129mph and 136mph, came up behind the BMW and attempted to swerve around it.

He lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the back half of the woman's dark grey Ford.[5] The baby suffered severe brain injuries resulting in permanent physical and neurological problems, meaning he will need round-the-clock care for the rest of his life.

Halliwell was given 32 months in prison - a sentence which was furiously criticised by ECHO readers,[6] who said he "got off lightly".

Here are 10 other drivers who appeared in Merseyside's courts

Paul Whitfield

A mindless driver who spent seven hours in the pub was so drunk he did not realise he had run over a person lying prone in the road until the police knocked at his door. Paul Whitfield embarked on an all-day drinking session[7] before he got behind the wheel of his car on January 12 2022.

The 54-year-old was said to have been so intoxicated that he failed to notice Adam Cunliffe, an animal technician, lying prone in the road. Whitfield ploughed his car into the 21-year-old, who had tripped into the road, before dragging his body under his car for 1km in front of horrified onlookers. He pleaded guilty to a single count of causing death by dangerous driving.

He was jailed for seven years and four months.

Haydn Patterson

Haydn Patterson, of Barons Close in Widnes[8], was out with his friend Kevin Viles, 41, at a pub on Monday, October 17 2022.[9] The friends spent around two hours in the Widnes pub, before leaving at around 5.40pm in Patterson's Mini Cooper.

He drove towards Runcorn, travelling over the Mersey Gateway bridge and onto the Central Expressway, where he lost control and crashed onto a grass embankment. Patterson then fled the scene, leaving Mr Viles seriously injured. He was taken to hospital, where he died.

Patterson pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the drug drive limit for cocaine and cannabis.

He was jailed for nine years.

Anya Foster

Anya Foster, 32, was driving a Skoda Fabia on Friday, December 1 2023 when she struck David Burrows, 59[10], who was riding a pedal bike on Islands Brow, close to its junction with Hinckley Road in St Helens[11].

David, who was from St Helens[12], was taken to hospital for treatment but died of his injuries shortly after the crash. Foster fled the scene in her car and was arrested later that same day.

Foster, of Gloucester Street, St Helens, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit for two separate controlled substances, driving while unfit through drugs, failing to stop after a collision and failing to report a collision. She was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison.

John Harkins

A man who struck and killed a 10-year-old boy while driving at more than double the speed limit sobbed and told his victim's family "I'm really sorry" as he was jailed. "Intelligent, bright and loving" Charlie Lowe died the day after he was hit by a car on Abingdon Road in Walton[13] on April 20 2023.

Driver John Harkins had been travelling home from work at over 50mph in a 20mph zone when the horror collision occurred.

A judge told him that his actions would "haunt him for the rest of his life".

Harkins admitted causing death by dangerous driving. He was imprisoned for six years and eight months, after which he turned to Charlie's family in the public gallery and tearfully told them: "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

Kevin Marsh

Kevin Marsh drank gin and snorted cocaine as he watched a Bear Grylls show on Netflix hours before getting behind the wheel[14] on July 5 2023. He smashed his Ford Fiesta into a bin lorry in a head-on collision, fatally injuring his partner Michelle Atherton[15], 47.

He then attempted to pin the blame on her, claiming that she had grabbed the steering wheel immediately beforehand.

But he was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court, having admitted the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs. He was jailed for 16 years.[16]

Mohamed Mahari

A "dignified and elegant" 92-year-old woman who "valued her independence" was killed by a careless driver on her way to church.[17] Mary Grazulis was crossing the road at the junction of Catherine Street and Canning Street in Liverpool's Georgian Quarter when she was hit by Mohamed Mahari at around 5.45pm on December 3 2023.

The 33-year-old, also known as Saddam Fadhlallah Zakaria Mahari, was a driver for JustEat and Deliveroo and was on his way from a delivery on nearby Percy Street when he crashed into the elderly woman, who was walking with the aid of a rollator.

Mahari pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and causing death by driving while uninsured. He was jailed for seven months.

Connor Mears

Audi driver Mears was "off his box" on crack cocaine[18] when he smashed into the back of an Uber at 90mph on The Strand. The Uber then crashed into a bench near to the Liver Building, where homeless man Robert Williams had been sleeping in the early hours of October 7, 2023.

The 44-year-old was seriously injured in the crash, and died in hospital a week later.

Mears callously fled the scene of the collision and was not apprehended until the following day - when he attended A&E and said he had been "on a mad one".

Mears, 28, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving while uninsured, failing to stop after an accident and driving while unfit through drugs. He was jailed for 12 years in January.

Glyn Jones

Glyn Jones, 67, was repeatedly warned that he was not fit to drive before he knocked down and killed two grandmas. Jones had been had more than 10 years previously that he had a degenerative eye condition which meant that his vision was "well below the standard required" to drive.

He was driving his Audi A3 along Lulworth Road in Birkdale[19] shortly after 4.30pm on November 30 2021 when he crashed into Marie Cunningham, 79, and Grace Foulds, 85, who had been making their way home from an afternoon social club.

Jones, of Blackgate Lane in Tarleton, West Lancashire, admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. He was jailed for seven years and four months and banned from driving for a total of nine years and 10 months in January[20] 2024.

Leo Meek

A man who mowed down and killed a 15-year-old boy was jailed again after leading police on a 100mph chase in a stolen car.

Leo Meek, 25, of no fixed abode, killed schoolboy Jack Jones in April 2021[21] while speeding at 55mph on a 30mph road. Jack, 15, from Moreton, had been cycling to his aunt's house after spending the evening watching a film with his little brother.

Meek was given a 40-month sentence for causing death by dangerous driving and disqualified from driving for three years from the date of his release. In 2018, he was again sentenced to six months[22] in prison, suspended for two years, after he was involved in a police chase which saw the driver reach speeds of 110mph in a stolen car before smashing into an officer's vehicle in the Birkenhead[23] tunnel.

On July 19 last year, he stole a white BWM M135i and led police on a reckless 100mph car chase through Cheshire. He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on May 23 2024, where he was jailed for 22 months for dangerous driving and handling stolen goods[24], and disqualified from driving for 47 months.

Craig Griffiths

Craig Griffiths, 36, of Frinsted Road in Norris Green[25], was 10mph over the speed limit when he hit 13-year-old Harry Kinney-Ryan[26] on East Lancashire Road[27], close to the Showcase Cinema, on December 7, 2022.

Griffiths had been driving his car on the East Lancs Road, on his way home to Runcorn. He sped off from traffic lights, where he had stopped, exceeding the 40mph speed limit and "cut across" two lanes of traffic before hitting Harry, who had started to cross the road before seeing the car speeding towards him.

Harry died in hospital two days later from his injuries. Griffiths appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on July 12 2024,[28] where he pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

He was jailed for 12 months.

References

1. ^ life-long injuries to a three-week-old baby, (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^ Daniel Halliwell, 35, became the latest in a long list of drivers (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
3. ^ St Helens (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
4. ^ HGV dashcam footage of the crash, (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
5. ^ crashed into the back half of the woman's dark grey Ford. (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
6. ^ furiously criticised by ECHO readers, (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
7. ^ Paul Whitfield embarked on an all-day drinking session (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
8. ^ Widnes (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
9. ^ out with his friend Kevin Viles, 41, at a pub on Monday, October 17 2022. (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
10. ^ she struck David Burrows, 59 (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
11. ^ St Helens (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
12. ^ St Helens (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
13. ^ Walton (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
14. ^ Kevin Marsh drank gin and snorted cocaine as he watched a Bear Grylls show on Netflix hours before getting behind the wheel (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
15. ^ his partner Michelle Atherton (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
16. ^ He was jailed for 16 years. (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
17. ^ killed by a careless driver on her way to church. (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
18. ^ Audi driver Mears was "off his box" on crack cocaine (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
19. ^ Birkdale (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
20. ^ He was jailed for seven years and four months and banned from driving for a total of nine years and 10 months in January (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
21. ^ killed schoolboy Jack Jones in April 2021 (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
22. ^ In 2018, he was again sentenced to six months (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
23. ^ Birkenhead (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
24. ^ He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on May 23 2024, where he was jailed for 22 months for dangerous driving and handling stolen goods (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
25. ^ Norris Green (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
26. ^ Harry Kinney-Ryan (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
27. ^ East Lancashire Road (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
28. ^ Griffiths appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on July 12 2024, (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)