Harrowing moment ‘show off’ Ferrari driver lost control at 130mph before crash that left newborn with permanent brain damage: Tech boss, 35, who told police ‘I was only in …
By JON BRADY[1] and EMILY JANE DAVIES[2]
Published: 13:23, 22 January 2025 | Updated: 14:26, 22 January 2025
A 'show-off' Ferrari driver left a newborn baby with brain damage after ploughing into another car at 130mph - as seen in shocking dashcam footage released by police[3].
Tech entrepreneur Daniel Halliwell, 35, has been jailed for 32 months and banned from the roads for five years after he caused a crash at almost double the maximum speed limit in his new Ferrari 812 GTS.
The sports car has a top speed of 211mph and was based on an existing model nicknamed the 'Superfast'. Halliwell bragged to police after the smash that he was only in second gear at the time of the crash.
An image issued by Cheshire Police of the aftermath shows the car left a crumpled and mangled shell after Halliwell, who had traces of ecstasy and cocaine in his system, ploughed into the Ford Fiesta merging onto a dual carriageway.
He lost control while hurtling down the A558 Daresbury Expressway in Greater Manchester 'ridiculously fast' on July 21, 2023, at around 5pm. The road had a 60mph speed limit in that area.
Chester Crown Court heard Halliwell, who owns Runcorn tech firm 24/7 Technology, had been showing off and driving like a 'rocket' while taking a friend 'out for a spin' in his new car.
Dashcam footage from a lorry driving at 55mph shows the moments before the collision - when the car, with a personalised number plate, shoots past at top speed.
The car in front, a BMW, then begins to move to the outside lane to allow the Ford Fiesta carrying a woman and a baby to join the road.
Halliwell then veers to the left to the avoid the Beemer - and loses control as the car skids into the Fiesta containing the youngster.
Daniel Halliwell, 35, was driving like a 'rocket' while taking his mate 'out for a spin' in his new Ferrari 812 GTS
Experts believe this dashcam footage showed him travelling at up to 130mph in the moments before he crashed into a car containing a newborn baby
His Ferrari 812 GTS - based on a model called the 'Superfast' - was left mangled after the high-speed smash. The young child will require round-the-clock care
The Ford hatchback was in full working order and the baby was securely fastened in his car seat, the court was told.
But the baby was left with bleeding on all parts of his brain and will require round the clock care. Doctors doubted he would survive.
The woman driving the Fiesta was merging onto the carriageway from a slip road when a BMW driver, described as 'faultless', moved over to allow her space.
He was stabilised and put into an induced coma - but will have life-changing and irreversible injuries.
His mother said in a victim impact statement read out in court: 'My son will not have the life that most of us envisage for our children.'
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.
Forensic collision investigators determined that the Ferrari was travelling at up to 111mph before the crash, based on the tyre marks left on the road.
Halliwell appeared in Chester Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing.
Companies House records for his tech firm 24/7 Technology show that Halliwell, as a director alongside Sarah Halliwell, allocated GBP215,000 of advances from the firm across 2021, 2022 and 2023.
They also deducted GBP207,522 of credits that do not need to be repaid, annual accounts showed.
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.
It was 'astonishing' that nobody died, the court heard. Halliwell told police he believed he was doing 70-80mph because he was 'only in second gear'.
Halliwell, of Earlestown, St Helens, had no previous convictions but six penalty points on his licence prior to the smash - including three for driving at 60mph on a 40mph stretch of the same road.
He said the traces of drugs in his system 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', the Warrington Guardian[4] reported.
In the distance, the car loses control as it veers left to avoid a BMW that moved over to let a mother merge onto the carriageway in a car carrying her baby
The GTS is a souped-up version of the stock Ferrari 812 Superfast model and can hit speeds of 211mph (stock image)
Daniel Halliwell lost control while hurtling down the Daresbury Expressway in Greater Manchester 'ridiculously fast' on July 21, 2023, around 5pm
The judge said: 'You decided to show off to your friend. When you went past that lorry driving at 55mph, it was like a rocket.
'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.
'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.
Halliwell received a jail sentence of 32 months.
He has also been disqualified from driving for five years, with an extension period of 18 months.
Following the sentencing, Sgt Andy Dennison of Cheshire Police furiously criticised Halliwell for his conduct.
Sgt Dennison said: 'This was shocking driving behaviour which could only have ended in tragedy.
Witnesses described Halliwell's manner of driving as fast, intimidating and frightening.
'At some point he lost control of the car and he then collided with a mother and her three-week-old baby.
'The baby ended up in hospital in a critical condition and is still suffering the consequences of Halliwell's reckless behaviour that day.
'I genuinely don't know how anyone could think driving at such speeds and so recklessly among busy traffic could not have been so dangerous to others, himself and his passenger.'
References
- ^ JON BRADY (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ EMILY JANE DAVIES (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ seen in shocking dashcam footage released by police (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Warrington Guardian (www.warringtonguardian.co.uk)