The family of a "devoted" nan who was killed by a speeding driver on her way home from a shopping trip say she "always put everyone else first". Linda Donnelly, known as Lin, died after being struck by a car as she crossed Brewster Street in Bootle, mere metres away from her home.
Neil Jones, the man behind the wheel, went on to falsely claim that the 72-year-old had "just run out in front of him" before, just over a year later, nearly ploughing his vehicle into a family on a day out at Cheshire Oaks then swinging a hammer at another man. Her daughter yesterday said that the man who "destroyed their family" had displayed a "pattern of behaviour" on the roads and added: "There is no guilt, no sorrow. This is not just a lapse in judgement."
The fatal collision
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Mrs Donnelly was crossing Brewster Street at around 7.45pm on December 12 2024, with footage having captured the pensioner reaching the central reservation before continuing to walk into the second section of the dual carriageway. She was then said to have been present in the road for roughly four seconds before being struck by Jones' car.
Members of her family were seen in tears in the public gallery as Zahra Baqri, prosecuting, detailed how a taxi driver who was travelling behind the 48-year-old's vehicle "saw something fly into the air" following the crash, while the occupants of another car stopped and administered first aid. The defendant went on to tell witnesses: "I hit her, I hit her. It was an accident."
Jones, of Morningside Road in Norris Green, was said to have "presented as extremely upset and distressed" at the scene, where he was seen "pacing up and down" while saying "oh my God, oh my God". He was also heard stating while on the phone: "I'm really sorry. I don't know what happened. She just walked in front me."
In this call, Jones went on to add that it was "really dark and he couldn't see anything", while he subsequently told a police officer who attended the incident that he was "driving along, and the next minute a woman just ran out in front of his car and he didn't see her". But Ms Baqri added: "The footage clearly shows that Mrs Donnelly did not run into the road."
With Mrs Donnelly having lived a matter of metres from the scene with her husband, he was "alerted to something go on but didn't realise the accident involved his wife" before also arriving at the site of the crash, where the ECHO previously reported that bags and Christmas presents were left strewn over the road. Paramedics made "considerable efforts at resuscitation" at the roadside, but she was later pronounced dead at Aintree Hospital as a result of "multiple injuries" sustained during the crash.
Victim impact statements
In a statement which was read to the court on her behalf, Mrs Donnelly's daughter Lisa Donnelly said: "The 12th of December 2024 was the worst day of my life. It was the day I lost my mum, my best friend, my biggest cheerleader and the person who is always there for everyone, no matter what.
"That morning, my mum had gone to visit my daughter, who had been sent home from work due to severe anxiety. This shows exactly the kind of person my mum was. No matter what she had going on in her own life, she always put everyone else first."
Mrs Donnelly's widow John Donnelly added in his own statement: "The thing which is staying with me is the scene at Brewster Street, where it happened. The ambulance, the police, her blood on the floor. I can't shake that image."
Second incident at Cheshire Oaks
Just over a year later, at around 3.15pm on December 23 2025, retired police officer Martin Alwyn was at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet in Ellesmere Port with his two adults sons and two grandchildren, aged five and nine. But, while crossing the road towards a restaurant, Jones then "drove his car towards them at speed".
Ms Baqri told the court: "Mr Alwyn thought that the defendant was going far too fast for that built up area. It was very busy, given the time of day. There were lot of pedestrians milling about. According to Mr Alwyn, the defendant narrowly missed making contact with his son by a matter of inches. The defendant seemed to make no effort to slow down."
Jones was then reported to have shouted towards his victims: "What have you done to my f***ing car? Who the f*** are you? I'll f***ing kick your head in. Don't you dare throw anything at my car or I'll smash your face."
Having "got into Mr Alwyn's face", Jones thereafter pushed this complainant to the chest, causing him to stumble backwards, before throwing punches at both him and Mr Brough, making contact with the latter's cheek. Members of Mrs Donnelly's family were heard to gasp in court as it was heard that he had been holding his child at the time he was assaulted.
With the children becoming "visibly distressed" as a result of the violence, Mr Kimpton attempted to intervene and told Jones to "just leave it and get back in his car". But he instead warned that he was "going to take them all on" and produced a claw hammer after "rummaging around" in his boot.
Having brandished the weapon above his head, Jones was said to have "charged towards" Mr Kimpton and swung the instrument towards him "at least twice". Ms Baqri said of this: "Fortunately for Mr Kimpton, the hammer did not make contact.
"It would seem that, as quickly as the incident commenced, the defendant seemed to gather his senses and realised the gravity of what he was doing and stopped. He then got back into his car. Because of the furore, security staff attended and surrounded the defendant's car, together with members of the public, in order to detain him. The defendant, feeling that he was trapped or surrounded, reversed his car."
Previous convictions and sentence
Jones has a total of 23 previous convictions for 34 offences, with a "majority for theft" and several for breaches of court orders. He was also caught speeding on five occasions in 2022, 2023 and 2024, while he was handed suspended prison sentences for assaults in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and fined for assaulting two police officers in 2018.
Jones admitted causing death by careless driving, dangerous driving, making threats with an offensive weapon and two counts of assault. He appeared emotional in the dock at times during the hearing, including wiping his eyes with a tissue, before he was jailed for 51 months.
Sentencing, Judge Simon Medland KC said: "It was dark because of the time of night and, of course, it was the winter, but there was nothing external to your driving which contributed to the outcome. The careless driving for which I have to sentence you, which caused Mrs Donnelly's death, was that you exceeded the speed limit by about 50 per cent.
"But for your driving, there is every reason to suppose that she would be alive today. I accept that you did not intend her the slightest harm. You were not driving dangerously, you were driving carelessly. Because of those features, the statutory maximum for the worst possible type of case after conviction by a jury is five years imprisonment."
Jones was also banned from driving for 51 months and ordered to pass an extended retest. He was meanwhile given restraining orders preventing him from contacting members of Mrs Donnelly's family and his victims in the second incident for seven years.
