Heartbroken Carlisle mum confronts driver who left adored son to die
Ross Neville, who lost control of his uninsured Ford Raptor on the A69 near Newcastle after he had spent five hours having a boozy night out, was jailed for almost 12 years for causing the death of 28-year-old Matthew Newton. Despite being at least one and a half times the drink drive limit, 35-year-old Neville attempted to drive back to Carlisle[1]. But after reaching a speed of 106mph his vehicle careered off the road, crashing into a metal roadside barrier.
The crash happened shortly after 11pm on November 28, 2024. Mr Newton, from Carlisle, suffered catastrophic injuries and is believed to have died almost immediately at the scene. Neville was never charged with drink driving because he fled the scene, denying police the chance to breathalyse him.
He did, however, admit causing death by dangerous driving and causing the death of Mr Newton while driving without being insured. Experts agreed he was at least one and a half times the drive drive limit when he crashed. At Newcastle Crown Court, prosecutor Lee Fish outlined how a Good Samaritan ran to the crash-scene, close to Throckley, on the westbound said of the A69.
She found Neville in driver's seat and conscious. When the woman asked if there was anybody else in the pick-up, Neville told her: "He's fine." He gave an identical answer when the woman asked him the same question a second time. Witnesses saw Neville (below) scrambling away across a grassy bank at the side of the road, desperate not to tested for alcohol.
He handed himself in at a Newcastle police station at 1pm the following day. 
When arrested, his only comment was: "Has he died, like?" Mr Fish outlined how Neville, from Canonbie, had relevant previous convictions, including a previous dangerous driving, and multiple speeding convictions, including three in the months before the crash. At the time, there were 11 points on his licence.
In 2022, he was jailed for helping two Carlisle murderers flee the country, though both were later caught and jailed for life. In court, Mr Newton's heartbroken mother Anna Douglas read her powerful victim impact statement, remembering Matthew as "a beautiful person," whose smile lit up the room when he walked in. She began with: "November 28, 2024, will always be the date that broke my heart and changed my life forever.
My life as I knew it ended that day to be replaced with the mere existence I live with now. "I never thought I would ever be in the position of knowing what losing a child felt like. As a mum, you never expect your child to die before you.
"It is the true meaning of heartache. "My heart hurts constantly. My body feels like it has been beaten black and blue and I can never feel the same way about life again.
It's the hardest feeling to explain as a mum." The tragedy had ruined her life, she said. Matthew had been her first-born, the oldest of three children, adored by his siblings.
"I have always lived my life for them and because of them," she said. Mrs Douglas continued: "We have been robbed of Matthew's future in the most traumatic, horrific way, with so many things stolen from us - seeing what he would have become, seeing him get married, having children of his own and watching him proudly as he fulfilled his dreams. "Instead, we have to live with this void in our lives and also watch his brother, sister and grandparents heartbroken and trying to adjust to a life without him.
"Life is hard now, a daily struggle filled with a constant overwhelming sadness, my heart aches every waking minute and the feeling of loss is painfully unbearable." Mrs Douglas then turned her attention to Neville, telling him: "You claimed to be Matthew's friend, yet you ran away and left him all alone; you didn't even ring 999. "You have shown no remorse, only ignorance and arrogance.
"You have been absolutely no help to the police. You have put us through the anxiety and turmoil of the court process instead of being honest from the start. "I hope you never forget what Matthew looked like, dead and trapped in your car.
I hope you have nightmares... I could not even kiss my beautiful boy... because of the injuries you caused him." She added: "My son's life was priceless, and you have stolen that from him.
I will never forgive you for your actions that night and the way you have conducted yourself since." The court earlier heard that Neville had no valid insurance for the Ford Raptor, though he claimed he was unaware of this. The defendant, who had run his own business for four years, had deactivated the seat belts on his vehicle, depriving both himself and Mr Newton of the protection they would have provided.
Defence barrister Paul Greaney said Neville's family would suffer as a result of his imprisonment but he was aware of the "very sad consequences of his criminality." Judge Edward Bindloss noted the defendant's high speed, with the Ford having reached 108mph at one point during the journey while it was travelling at 106mph when Neville lost control. Other aggravating factors included the defendant's drinking, fleeing the scene, and denying the offences until three weeks a scheduled trial.
The Judge jailed Neville for eleven years and eleven months, stipulating that he must serve a minimum of seven years and ten months before he becomes eligible for release on licence. The Judge also imposed a seven-year driving ban, which come into force when the defendant is released. Neville must pass and extended driving test before he can drive independently.
Speaking after the hearing, Sergeant Greg Huntley, from Northumbria Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, described Neville's offending as "shocking." "Worse still, he then told the HGV driver who came across the crash that his friend was fine, before shamelessly fleeing the scene," said the officer. "It is clear to me that Neville was not a good friend - and he only had himself in mind that evening as he left Matthew with unsurvivable injuries in his car.
"Despite the challenges faced in the early stages of the investigation, we were able to trawl CCTV and financial data to piece together Neville's actions.
From this, we know that he consumed alcohol to the excess in Newcastle city centre before getting back in his pick-up truck to drive them home.
"He thought by running away he could hide how much he had drank - but thanks to tireless work by officers we proved this in other ways."