Ferrari driver jailed after crash left newborn with brain injuries
Daniel Halliwell shot down the Daresbury Expressway "like a rocket" while he was taking his friend for "a spin" in his new Ferarri 812 GTS. But the 35-year-old lost control and crashed into a car carrying a mother and her newborn baby. The baby suffered bleeding to all parts of his brain and his mum was told that he was not expected to survive.
He was stabilised and put into an induced coma. The baby has been left with life-changing and irreversible injuries. Halliwell, of Earlestown, appeared before Chester Crown Court today, Tuesday, after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing.
Prosecuting, Thomas McLoughlin said the horrific incident happened at around 5pm on A558 Daresbury Express in Sandymoor on July 21, 2023. Mr McLoughlin said the baby was being driven in a Ford Fiesta by his mum. The car was in full working order and the baby was securely fastened in his car seat.
He told the court that the baby's mum was merging onto the carriageway from a slip road when a BMW driver, described as "faultless", moved over to allow her space. Meanwhile, Halliwell was approaching in his Ferrari at "extreme speed" and made an "extensive manoeuvre" to avoid the BMW. But this resulted in him losing control and crashing into the Ford Fiesta.
The incident, which a witness said sounded like an explosion, was "solely as a result of a manner of driving", Mr McLoughlin explained. It was caught on the dashcam of a HGV which was travelling behind the vehicles involved. Footage was shown to the court of the aftermath of the crash.
Tyre marks could be seen across the carriageway, as could both cars which were heavily damaged, as well as debris, a tyre from the Ferrari, and an exhaust. The court heard how it was "astonishing" that nobody died. Following the crash, the baby was taken to Whiston Hospital where his mum was told that he was not expected to survive and that he had bleeding to all parts of his brain.
He was stabilised and rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital where he was put into an induced coma. He was discharged from hospital after three weeks. 
The baby has been left with catastrophic injuries which mean he will require care and treatment for the rest of his life. A victim impact statement from the baby's mum was read to the court. She said how when he was born just three weeks before, and that he was happy, healthy and perfect and was progressing well in all of his milestones.
But she said on July 21, their lives changed beyond recognition. "My son will not have the life that most of us envisage for our children," she said. The court heard how her baby's growth and development has been severely impacted and that he has not achieved milestones.
He has neurological disabilities and is extremely dependent on his mum. She had to have professionals come to her home to teach her how to respond to his unique needs. The baby also requires specialist equipment, some of which is not provided on the NHS and is extremely expensive.
Eventually, the family will have to move into a home suitable for the child's needs, and she will eventually have to get a car that will be wheelchair accessible and will be able to carry specialist equipment. It was heard how the extent of the baby's injuries are only becoming more apparent as he is getting older. For the mum, she has lost her social and personal life and no longer feels confident driving or taking her children out.
She can also only work part time due to caring for her baby. And as well as sustaining injuries herself in the crash, she has been left psychologically harmed. 
Chester Crown Court heard how Halliwell has no previous convictions, but that he has six penalty points on his licence. Three of these are for travelling at 60mph in a 40mph zone - on a different stretch of the Daresbury Expressway. Following a urine test, it was also discovered that Halliwell had traces of cocaine and ecstasy in his system which he said were from a holiday he had been on four days prior to the crash.
It was heard how he was "not knowingly driving with drugs in his system". Halliwell originally said how he was not travelling much faster than 60mph and suggested that the BMW contributed to the crash. However he later pleaded guilty to the offence.
Defending, Sophia Dower noted how moving the victim impact statement from the baby's mum was. She expressed how sorry her client is and said that he recognises his actions have destroyed the lives of the baby and his family. "Their suffering to him is nothing short of gut wrenching," she said.
Ms Dower said how Halliwell's wife said the realisation of his actions left him inconsolable and that he has since struggled with his "thoughts and demons". The court heard how following the incident, Halliwell was "in such a dark place that he did not see the point in continuing life". She said how Halliwell, who owns his own successful company 24/7 Technology, is a hardworking man who is talked of by others in a high regard.
She said he has done a lot of a charity work. Concluding, Judge Steven Everett said: "On July 21, 2023, you were driving your new Ferrari ridiculously fast on a dual carriageway that was busy enough with other people. "There were other vehicles around and this car is 'engineered', I suppose, to drive at speeds that should never be driven on any public road.
"And you decided to show off to your friend. "When you went past that lorry driving at 55mph, it was like a rocket. "Tragically for the baby and his family, he and his mother happened to be driving down that slip road intending to join that carriageway as you were speeding along.
"There was a BMW driver who was faultless, they did what many cars do and ought to do and started to move across to allow those coming onto the slip road to join the road. "That driver wasn't to know that you were coming up behind as ridiculously fast as you did - and you gave no thought to the fact of that. "You know the road, you've been caught speeding on it before.
"You gave no thought and just sped on in a selfish and arrogant way, giving no thought to anyone but yourself and the thrill-seeking that you wanted to get by showing off the speed of that vehicle. "When the BMW started to edge out to the right, you then suddenly lost control and skidded off to the left, over the cross hatchings and then you hit the baby's mother's car. "We [in the courtroom] have all seen the aftermath of that terrible crash.
"It is astonishing, absolutely astonishing that nobody died, but that will be of no comfort whatsoever to that mother. "The pride and joy that she would have felt for that little boy would have been huge, taking him out, strapped into his car seat in a proper way and driving perfectly properly and suddenly all of her hopes and cherished dreams for the future were cruelly extinguished because of you being on that road. "It is an interesting feature that tragically if somebody had died, you would have been falling into a sentencing bracket between eight and 18 years.
"But here, somebody's life has been affected in a catastrophic way. "That little boy will never be able to have a normal childhood or adulthood. "His mum, as she has graphically described, will never have a natural motherhood in the sense that she will see him growing up in the way that she wanted to.
"It is not something that will get better in time. "They may be able to deal with it in a better way, but it will never be better and that is as a result of what you did. "I keep in mind it is not just that little boy who is a victim, but there are a whole rook of victims in this case.
"You had a previous speeding offence in same area, it should have been the greatest warning to you."
Halliwell received a sentence of 32 months in prison.
He has also been disqualified from driving for five years, with an extension period of 18 months.