Footage shows cocaine-fuelled dad in petrol station moments before killing son in horror crash

Daniel Burba had been told to stop driving due to health issues

16:26, 05 Aug 2025Updated 16:47, 05 Aug 2025

CCTV footage shows the moment a cocaine-fuelled dad walked into a petrol station moments before killing his teenage son in a crash on the M6. Daniel Burba, 31, suffered an epileptic seizure at the wheel of his wife's Peugeot van which veered off the M6 near Lancaster, struck a tree and rolled over on April 20.[1]

His front-seat passenger, Ryan Morgan[2], 14, suffered fatal head injuries and was declared dead at the scene of the crash on the southbound carriageway between junctions 34 and 33.

The teenager died "in terror" as he attempted to take control of the vehicle moments before the crash, Preston Crown Court was told.

Burba was taken to hospital with "relatively minor" injuries to his ribs and cuts.

While receiving treatment, a paramedic found a small bag of cocaine in Burba's wallet, the court heard.

Blood analysis showed that the defendant was four times over the legal drug-drive threshold.

It came to light that Burba, from Morecambe, Lancashire, had been instructed in October 2014 by his GP to cease taking cocaine following a seizure which lasted up to four minutes.

The provisional licence holder was also warned against driving.

Burba received a similar caution in February when he was hospitalised after further fits and was also instructed to notify the DVLA.

During sentencing, Judge Robert Altham, the Honorary Recorder of Preston, told him: "You knew that cocaine predisposed you to further fits.

"You were not entitled to drive unsupervised and certainly not on the motorway. You should not have behind the wheel at all.

"You chose to drive on a motorway on a busy bank holiday Sunday.

You had a passenger in the van and that passenger was your son, a person you should have been protecting and not endangering.

"You knew that taking cocaine made your decision to drive all the more dangerous. Your driving put many other road users in danger."

Ryan's mum Kim, who was sat in court, said Burba's actions were "disgusting".

In a victim personal statement, she said: "Daniel has taken a precious son, brother, grandson, nephew, friend and cousin. He had so much to live for.

"The fact that Daniel knew he wasn't allowed to drive due to his seizures, plus a lack of licence and insurance is just disgusting.

"It's so unfair because Ryan did have a beautiful heart.

He wanted to be a policeman. He would have changed the world. He made it a better place in the short time he was here.

He made everyone smile who came into contact with him.

He had a smile that lit up the room.

"Daniel has taken all that and more."

Burba, of Arnside Crescent, had previously admitted causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing.

He also pleaded guilty to driving without a licence and with no insurance.

Judge Altham sentenced him to 10 years and banned him from driving for 14 years and five months.

References

1. ^ veered off the M6 near Lancaster, struck a tree and rolled over on April 20. (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^ Ryan Morgan (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)