Man jailed following fatal car crash in Gorton

A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison for causing the death of a 25-year-old man and causing serious injury to a 30-year-old woman in Gorton in December last year.

On 5 December at 11.40pm Ryan McElroy was driving a Vauxhall Crossland at speed on Mount Road in Gorton, Manchester, when he collided with a Vauxhall Insignia which was performing a U-turn on the road.

The occupants of the Insignia were returning from an evening at Christian Revival Church in Manchester. The driver suffered a fractured pelvis and her friend Louis Dube, who was in the back seat, sustained multiple serious injuries. Mr Dube’s life support was turned off shortly before 10pm on 9 December.

McElroy had been drinking all day, had taken Diazepam and was disqualified from driving following a recent drink driving conviction.

The Crossland was travelling between 49mph and 60mph when it collided with the Insignia.  There is no evidence to indicate that he applied the brakes or attempted to reduce speed before the collision.

When Greater Manchester Police arrived at the scene they found McElroy slumped in a chair. He gave them a false name and claimed he had been the back seat passenger in the Crossland, which had been driven by “Dave from Broughton”.

He then told paramedics he had been the front seat passenger. He wasn't wearing any shoes and sliders were found in the driver's footwell.

McElroy failed to provide a roadside breath sample, but after being taken to hospital for minor injuries, he provided a blood sample which contained 274 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, over 3 times the legal limit. The blood toxicology examination showed he had Diazepam in his system, which was below the legal limit.

In police interview he gave no comment, but he eventually admitted at court last month that he had in fact been the driver of the car and pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified.

In her victim impact statement, the driver of the car said: “I stayed in hospital until Friday 9 December 2022 and I went straight to Salford Royal Hospital to see Louis.

"When I was told they were switching off his life support machine I remember feeling like every bone had just been shattered in my body and the worst emotional pain I have ever felt in my life at this point.

"This incident has completely broken me. It has completely changed my life and turned it completely upside down. I am a child of God and forgiveness is part of my very fibre and whatever made the man who did this do what he did, I forgive him but I cannot say that his actions haven’t changed me as a person forever.”

Louis’ mother said in her victim impact statement: “Louis was not only my son, but he was also my best friend, my mentor and the spiritual giant of our house.

"I now have a hole in my heart that no-one will ever fill. When I sit and talk about Louis, I now have to live with the fact that I will never see him again.

"I will never see him married or have children of his own. I now have this persistent, intense yearning and sadness. I miss Louis so much.

"There is no break, every day in my mind there is a repeat, a record player of the insistent troubling thoughts and images of my son lying in a hospital bed, unconscious. I felt so helpless, I wanted to take his place, but I couldn’t."

She added: “I would like to say to Ryan’s family that I hope you too can help Ryan find a meaningful purpose for his life; I sincerely release my pain of losing Louis through forgiveness. My heart breaks for you because you have lost him to a prison cell; I am deeply sorry for your loss.”

Philip Hall, Crown Advocate for CPS North West, said: “This is a truly tragic case. Ryan McElroy’s appalling decision to drive again whilst drunk so soon after being disqualified for doing the same resulted in a young man losing his life and a woman receiving serious injuries.

“Reading the Victim Impact Statements of Louis’ friend and mother is incredibly moving: they have both shown unbelievable courage. My thoughts are with them and all those who have been affected by Louis’ death.

“This case serves as a further reminder of the disastrous consequences of drink driving. Ryan McElroy will now face the consequences of his actions.”