Something ‘must change’ as ‘off their box’ drivers cause misery

Police have demanded that something "must change" as drink and drug drivers continue to cause misery on Merseyside streets.

Merseyside Police has said in 2023 alone, officers arrested a total of 2730 drug drivers - an average of 227 per month and 53 per week. They also arrested 1268 people for drink driving over the same period, along with 127 people who failed to provide a sample.

The figures showed a 23% increase from 2022, with officers demanding something "must change" following the court case of Connor Mears, who flew down the Strand at 90mph in an Audi TT^[1] following a five-day drink and drugs binge when he smashed into the back of an Uber. This taxi then crashed into a bench near to the Liver Building, where homeless man Robert Williams had been sleeping in the early hours.

The 44-year-old was left in an induced coma as a result and died of his injuries just over a week later. In spite of the devastation he had caused, Mears callously fled the scene of the collision and was not apprehended until the following day - when he attended A&E and said he had been "on a mad one".

Liverpool Crown Court^[4] heard Mr Williams was a "rough sleeper" who was "lying on a bench" on the Strand shortly after 1am on Saturday, October 7, while the defendant had been driving "at high speed, trying to evade a pursuing police car" when he "lost control and struck another car, which mounted the pavement and struck the bench". The victim was ultimately pronounced dead in hospital 11 days later on October 18.

Mark Connor, prosecuting, described how Mears had been behind the wheel of a sports car belonging to his front seat passenger Dawn Robinson, and had not been insured to drive the vehicle. The Audi first came to the attention of officers after "accelerating hard away from traffic lights" on Derby Road, at the junction with Millers Bridge in Bootle^[5].

A PC who followed the 28-year-old as he travelled towards the city centre had to reach speeds of up to 90mph on the 40mph dual carriageway "just to try to keep up" with him. Mears, of no fixed address, then ran a red light at a junction where pedestrians were crossing, and the patrolling police car activated its lights and siren and gave chase.

He failed to stop however, and "continued driving at high speed". Further along the route, another car was turning right into Chapel Street from the opposite side of the Strand in accordance with traffic signals.

Connor Mears (Image: Merseyside Police)

Here, Mears again sped through a red light and had to swerve to avoid a collision with the other vehicle. He lost control of the Audi as a result and crashed into the back of an Uber driver's Toyota Auris ahead of him.

The "force of the impact" sent the taxi "off the road and onto the pavement", colliding with the bench where Mr Williams had been lying and even taking it off its fittings. The car went on to crash into and snap two trees before coming to a stop.

Pedestrians rushed to the aid of the casualty, who was left unconscious and with a large wound to his head. Mr Williams was taken to the critical care unit at the Walton^[6] Centre and sedated, but died at 6.40am on October 18 after his tracheostomy was withdrawn following discussions with his family.

The Uber driver meanwhile had to be cut out of his car by the emergency services, but was not seriously injured. Mears "immediately exited" his vehicle after it came to a halt and ran away.

He was said to have briefly stopped at the corner on Brunswick Street and "turned back to look", but then continued onwards. Ms Robinson did not give the driver's name to Merseyside Police, but confirmed he had been a man shown in passport photographs discovered inside the car - which, according to the force, had begun its journey in Southport^[7].

The day after the incident, Mears attended the Royal Liverpool Hospital complaining of pain to his arms and legs and told a doctor in the emergency department he had "been in a road traffic collision the previous night outside the Liver Building". He added he had "seen the news and was scared", and was planning to hand himself in to the police.

Mears said he "hadn't known what he had hit, but had been on a mad one", having been using crack cocaine and drinking. He agreed the police should be called, and officers attended and arrested him.

After being transported to Wirral^[8] Custody Suite, he mentioned to officers that "it was in the ECHO" and asked "is the fella alright?". Mears "appeared to be under the influence of drink or drugs" and said that he too was homeless, and had been staying at Ms Robinson's flat.

He said that he had been "smoking crack and drinking for four or five days" and asked her for a "lift to meet a female in town", but ended up driving himself. He also confessed to having been "off his box" at the time.

Mears reported that his memory of the crash was "hazy" but said he had "panicked" after seeing the police. He repeated that he "recalled hitting something but didn't know what" before he "saw reports in the ECHO" the following morning, adding he was "sorry for what he had done".

His previous convictions include offences of possession of drugs, criminal damage and theft by employee. The latter came after he stole bottles of liquor from a city centre bar where he was working as a cleaner "in lieu of wages".

Brendan Carville, defending, told the court: "The defendant and the deceased have had similar paths in life. This defendant himself has been a rough sleeper.

"He was, at the time of the offence, heavily addicted to crack cocaine. He had a wretched upbringing in Australia.

"He had recently returned from Australia to seek closure with problems with his mother and father. When he arrived here, he was homeless.

"He relied on Dawn Robinson to give him a sofa to sleep on. That said, he has shown genuine remorse here. There was instant remorse at the hospital. He is genuinely remorseful for what he has done."

Mears admitted causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving while uninsured, failing to stop after an accident and driving while unfit through drugs. Appearing in the dock wearing a khaki green bodywarmer and a maroon Montirex t-shirt, he showed no reaction as he was jailed for 12 years.

Sentencing, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: "There is no doubt that the cause of death in this case was the fatal head injury suffered by Mr Williams on October 7. I have no doubt that his unexpected and violent death has come as a great shock to his family and friends, and that he will be sorely missed.

"You have previously served short periods in prison, but never a sentence of the sort of length of the one I will have to impose this afternoon. This must have been a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road and to show disregard for the risk of danger to others.

"It was prolonged and persistent dangerous driving. It was an offence committed in the course of evading the police, and you were driving at speeds significantly in excess of the limit.

"I recognise the difficult upbringing you have had and the chaotic lifestyle you have led since your return from Australia. You did of course surrender to the police, but you only did so after some delay.

"You have expressed remorse. In reality, there is little mitigation in this case of any significance apart from your pleas of guilty."

Mears will be required to serve half of his sentence before being released on licence. He was also banned from driving for 16 years, and will be required to pass an extended retest.

Detective Sergeant Kurt Timpson, lead investigating officer from Merseyside Police's serious collision investigation unit, said: “Our thoughts remain very much with the family of the man who died in this crash. It has been a very difficult period for them as their lives have been changed forever by this incident, and they have been supported by a specially trained family liaison officer throughout the case.

"I welcome the sentence today, and I would like to thank members of the public who rushed to help the man that morning. The speed and manner of driving by Mears was grossly excessive and inappropriate, and has been found in open court to be dangerous.

"His driving was prolonged, and he had driven from Southport to Liverpool in a time which showed his speed was vastly in excess of the speed limit. Excess speed and driving whilst impaired through drink and drugs devastates lives and causes unimaginable harm to people who become involved in road crashes.

"Not one of us would want to be involved in such incidents, and we must change driving behaviour to reduce that harm. Merseyside Police will not tolerate drivers who deliberately ignore the rules of the road, and we are committed to the prevention of serious injury and road death to work towards Vision Zero – our strategy focused on driving down the amount of road traffic collisions in our regions and to lower the number of people killed and seriously injured on our streets.

“However, this is something that we must all do in partnership. Communities can also take a stand and help us to make the roads safer.

"We know how much you want to help us so that we can ensure roads and shared spaces are used responsibly and that people abide by the laws we enforce. The sentence issued at Liverpool Crown Court today by Judge Flewitt shows that the courts will deal robustly with offenders and acts as a stark message to anyone whose selfish and reckless actions end in such tragedy."

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References

1. ^{^} flew down the Strand at 90mph in an Audi TT (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Council bosses to hold urgent meeting over Liverpool ECHO tax investigation (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Paedophile with 19,000 disturbing abuse images thanks judge as he walks from court (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Liverpool Crown Court (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Bootle (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Walton (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Southport (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
8. ^{^} Wirral (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
9. ^{^} Enter our £2,000 Wickes voucher giveaway and step into 2024 with style (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
10. ^{^} Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)