Court hears 'harrowing' victim statement after horror Billinge crash

Patricia Saxon was in the front passenger seat of a Volkswagen being driven by her husband as she was on her way to meet a friend in St Helens when the vehicle smashed into the car in Billinge at more than 80 mph.

A Crown Court judge said he would “struggle to even imagine a worse sequence of bad driving” than that displayed by Liam Duffy, who was behind the wheel of the Range Rover, which flipped over and rolled around 40 yards down the road.

Damage caused in the crash (Image: Public)

Branding Duffy’s driving as “unspeakably bad”, judge Mr Recorder Richard Conley, sent Duffy to prison as he appeared for sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday (October 25).

Mrs Saxon, who was aged 75, suffered “broken ribs, a fractured sternum and a tear in her lung” and had to be treated in hospital.

The court heard that Mrs Saxon died several months after the crash following a later cancer diagnosis with “no suggestion” this was linked to her injuries from the crash.

Court hears 'harrowing' victim statement

A “harrowing” victim person statement from Mr Saxon was read to the court by prosecuting barrister Iain Criddle, in which he said “at times we wished we hadn’t survived the accident due to the physical and psychological pain we suffered. We felt we became a burden to those we loved most.”

The statement added: “Pat passed away four months after this incident with cancer which was unknown to us at the time” and said “not being able to care for herself was a great emotional strain”.

READ > Man arrested after overturned car lands in field

The statement said that Pat had been going to meet a friend from church for "lunch" when the crash took place and was "excited to be going" and "hadn't seen this friend for some time."

Judge Conley added during the sentencing hearing: “When listening to the personal statement it makes for a harrowing listen.

“The fact that even as they saw your vehicle coming at them knowing there was nothing they could do to prevent (the collision). They knew they were completely helpless and at the mercy of what was about to unfold.”

Remarking on the impact the crash had on Mrs Saxon, the judge said “it was that level of pain and suffering that Mrs Saxon lived in what was to be the last few weeks of her life.”

He said although she died from an “unrelated” illness “nevertheless she had to live out her short life in incredible pain and discomfort.”

Duffy 'ignored warning' about his driving

Prosecutor Mr Criddle told the court that the crash happened on the morning of September 9, 2022, at around 10.30am around the area of Birchley Road, Billinge.

He said the “run up” to the crash began earlier that morning when Duffy had hired the blue Range Rover which was “fitted with a tracker”.

Mr Criddle said Duffy had the correct documents to drive the car but “within moments the tracker notified the person from which he had hired it that he was driving at excessive speed at 71 mph in a 40 mph area”.

The owner contacted Duffy and warned him “if he wished to continue with the hire he needed to drive in a more conservative way.”

Mr Criddle added: “It appears he (Duffy) ignored that warning because from then from various reports this defendant drove his Range Rover aggressively and at speed”, with the tracker reporting speeds of up to 97 mph.

He said “for example on Jackson Street there is a report the vehicle was seen racing” against another car.

Mr Criddle said a pedestrian who was trying to cross Woodlands Road said he thought “the two vehicles were racing at that point”.

When Duffy reached Billinge it was said he was reported driving at around “85 to 90 mph” and “overtaking on the wrong side of the road”, forcing one vehicle to “pull into the side of the road”. Duffy also overtook “at least another two vehicles shortly before the collision”.

Mr Criddle said the crash took place as the Range Rover was “overtaking” on a “blind corner on the wrong side of the road at speed and collided into a vehicle which was indicating to turn right across his path from Martindale Road.

“The vehicle he collided with was in no way at fault, it was simply due to the defendant’s overtaking on the wrong side of the road on a blind corner at speed”.

The scene after the crash (Image: Public)

Mr Criddle said the Range Rover “flipped over and was described as rolling between 30 and 40 metres before it came to a stop”.

He said the driver of the Volkswagen Barry Saxon, Patricia’s husband was able to get out of the car and with the help of other members of the public and a hammer was able to open the door and described his wife as “unconscious inside the vehicle”.

The court heard Duffy was a habitual cannabis smoker and had used the drug the night before the crash. He had been sentenced to a community order in August last year for drug driving in relation to the incident.

He also has previous convictions for possession of cannabis and of a loaded air weapon.

Liam Duffy was a habitual cannabis smoker, the court was told (Image: Merseyside Police)

Defending Duffy, Daniel Travers said the long delay before the case reached court has “weighed incredibly heavily”. Asking the judge for the sentence to be suspended or reduced, Mr Travers that added Duffy is in a “stable loving relationship” and has an 11-year-old stepson.

'Driving of the worst kind imaginable'

Judge Conley said: “This was a protracted dangerous driving of the worst imaginable kind” and said the speed at which he drove was “frankly terrifying”.

The judge added “it is absolutely astonishing there were not casualties” and said “it is not overly dramatic to say that at the wheel of a two-tonne Range Rover driven in this way you were no less dangerous than had you had in your possession a loaded firearm because of the sort of devastation that can result from that kind of driving.”

The judge remarked how Mrs Saxon had to “live out her short (rest of) her life in incredible pain and discomfort” and the crash had a “substantial effect on her ability” to carry out many of her daily activities “for the rest of her life”.

Liam Duffy was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Stock)

Reducing the sentence by a third for his early guilty plea, the judge gave Duffy, of Sherdley Road, St Helens, a 28-month prison sentence of which he must serve half in custody before being released on licence.

Duffy, 33, who wore a jacket and tie in the dock, was also disqualified from driving for 36 months after his release.