Drivers who should never have gotten behind the wheel

From drug use and speeding to vision problems, all of these reckless drivers failed to take proper care on the roads.

Every driver has a legal responsibility to keep the road safe. Despite this, on average five people die every day on UK roads as careless drivers turn cars and vans into deadly killing machines.

According to road safety charity Brake, someone is killed or seriously injured on UK roads every 16 minutes. The government’s latest report on road traffic fatalities in Britain, published in September 2023, found that 1,711 people died on the roads in 2022, while 29,742 were killed or seriously injured.

Around 44% of deaths were car occupants, 22% were pedestrians, 20% were motorcyclists and 5% were cyclists. 75% of all deaths on British roads were caused by male drivers, and men were also more likely to be victims than women, accounting for 76% of deaths and 62% of injuries.

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Tragically, some of these deaths were not simply accidents, but the result of dangerous or careless driving. From drug use and speeding to vision problems, all of these reckless drivers failed to take due care on the roads – with fatal results. Here are nine killer drivers who were jailed after appearing at Liverpool Crown Court this year.

Connor Mears

Audi driver Mears was “out of his mind” on crack cocaine when he rear-ended an Uber at 90mph on The Strand. The Uber then crashed into a bench near the Liver Building where homeless man Robert Williams was 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 arrested until the following day – when he went to A&E and said he was “in a tizzy”.

Mears, 28, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving without insurance, failing to stop after an accident and driving while unfit through drugs. He was jailed for 12 years in January.

Kevin Swamp

Kevin Marsh drank gin and snorted cocaine hours before he got behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta and crashed into a bin lorry on Broad Oak Road, St Helens, on July 5, 2023.

His partner Michelle Atherton, 47, died in the crash. Cowardly Marsh, 43, tried to shift the blame to the victim by claiming she had grabbed the steering wheel moments before the crash, but was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court. He admitted a lesser charge of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.

The father-of-three stood with his head bowed and looked emotional as he was sentenced to 16 years in prison by Judge David Aubrey KC in January this year.

Glyn Jones

Glyn Jones, 67, was repeatedly warned he was unfit to drive before he ran over and killed two grandmothers. Jones had been warned more than 10 years earlier that he had a degenerative eye condition which meant his vision was “well below the standard required” to drive.

He was driving his Audi A3 along Lulworth Road in Birkdale shortly after 4.30pm on November 30, 2021 when he collided with Marie Cunningham, 79, and Grace Foulds, 85, who were driving 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 this year.

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. Mary Grazulis was crossing the road at the junction of Catherine Street and Canning Street in Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter when she was struck by Mohamed Mahari at around 5.45pm on 3 December 2023.

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

Mahari, of Rowan Avenue in Bristol, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and causing death by driving without insurance. He was jailed for seven months in March.

Leo Meek

A man who ran over and killed a 15-year-old boy has been arrested 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 while driving at 55mph on a 30mph road. Jack, 15, from Moreton, was cycling to his aunt’s house after spending the evening watching a film with his younger brother.

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

On July 19 last year, he stole a white BMW 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, and disqualified from driving for 47 months.

Haydn Paterson – What is it?

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

The 30-year-old drove towards Runcorn, travelling over the Mersey Gateway Bridge and onto the Central Expressway. At around 5.55pm, Patterson turned onto the Southern Expressway, where he lost control of the car and crashed. He then walked away from the wreckage and fled the scene, leaving Mr Viles seriously injured inside the car. He was taken to hospital where he died a month later.

Patterson pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drugs (cocaine and cannabis) and was sentenced to nine years in prison in January 2024. He also admitted possession of a class A drug (cocaine) and possession of a class B drug (cannabis).

Craig Griffiths

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

Harry was on his way home from a nearby petrol station to buy some sweets when he crossed the dual carriageway and was hit by Griffiths’ silver Vauxhall Astra at around 7.20pm. He died in hospital two days later from his injuries.

Griffiths appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, July 12, where he pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving. He was jailed for 12 months.