Personal trainer Megan Murphy, 26, repeatedly ran over a man who had fallen into the road before calling him a 'smackhead'. She failed to defrost her windscreen properly in the early hours of January 9 last year and drove the wrong way down a one-way road near her former home in Marsh Green, Wigan.
Darryl Tomlinson, 31, who lived around the corner from Murphy, had collapsed following an evening out drinking with friends. Murphy drove over him, reversed, and drove over him again. Immediately after, she said 'I didn't see him', before telling a friend she had just 'reversed over him'. A court heard she called Mr Tomlinson a 'smackhead' while he was still under her car.
Failed emergency response
Neighbours called 999 after spotting Mr Tomlinson, but 'in an awful twist of fate', neither police nor paramedics 'could find the patient and never attended the scene'. He died in the street. A separate investigation into the actions of the emergency services is ongoing. The court heard that 'the provided address wasn't properly recorded and so the address provided to both agencies was incorrect'.
Murphy, now of Lord Street, Ince, appeared for sentencing at Bolton Crown Court on Tuesday (June 23), having earlier admitted causing death by dangerous driving. She will learn her fate on Wednesday (June 24).
Dangerous driving habit
Outlining the facts of the case, Rob Hall said at the time of the incident, Murphy lived on Kitt Green Road, Marsh Green. She had a 'habit' of reversing out of an access lane before driving the wrong way down one-way Pembroke Road and turning onto Kitt Green Lane. She had been seen by neighbours carrying out the manoeuvre repeatedly over the course of a year. 'It would seem she ignored the rules of the road to save herself time by avoiding driving around the housing estate,' Mr Hall said.
The night before the early hours incident, Mr Tomlinson had been at a friend's for drinks while watching football. He left with a pal, went to another person's flat, then got a taxi to a petrol station for more alcohol. They returned to the Kitt Green Road flat, not far from Mr Tomlinson's home on Comet Road, and continued drinking. The court heard there was a Met Office yellow warning for snow and ice in force from 3am on January 9.
Victim's final movements
Mr Tomlinson, said to have been drunk and having been 'likely to have taken cocaine and cannabis', left his friend's flat. 'Mr Tomlinson was able to use the toilet and walk down the stairs unaided, so his friends thought nothing of his ability to get himself from the flat to his home, a walk of 500 metres,' Mr Hall said. He was seen on CCTV stumbling. Mr Tomlinson fell outside a house on Pembroke Road at around 3.19am. He was 'relatively central' in the road. He was wearing a black jacket with a fluffy hood and black trousers.
Mr Tomlinson made two calls to friends, leaving one a voicemail asking for help. His friend described him as 'very drunk, slurring his words' and said he 'did not know where he was'. Mr Tomlinson had asked for his friend to call him a taxi, but he couldn't as he didn't know where he was.
At around 4.40am, a neighbour went outside to de-ice his car. He saw Mr Tomlinson, who was 'incoherent' and 'unresponsive'. His partner called for an ambulance at 5.05am.
Collision and aftermath
The brother-in-law of the woman who called for an ambulance blocked the south end of the road with his taxi, before Murphy came out of her house. She was seen attempting to clear her windscreen for a matter of seconds at 5.44am. 'It was woefully inadequate,' Mr Hall added. 'When she reversed, she had practically no outward visibility from the driver's seat.' At 5.48am, she drove onto Pembroke Road, her Citroen DS3 headlights illuminating Mr Tomlinson in the road.
She was then caught on CCTV to drive forward, stop momentarily in front of Mr Tomlinson before driving over him. She then reversed over his body, before driving over him again. People were 'waving their arms and shouting' and the taxi driver nearby was sounding his horn. As they called 999, Murphy was recorded in the background saying: 'I didn't see him'.
'Sadly, Megan Murphy decided to deliberately lie to avoid responsibility for what she had done,' Mr Hall added. 'In the 999 call that followed, she said she was leaving to drive the correct way on Pembroke Road. Three minutes after the collision, she walked away to make a phone call to a friend in which she claimed she had reversed over him - which was clearly not correct - and called him a smackhead.'
A friend encouraged her to make sure she had defrosted her windscreen properly or she would 'get f***ed' as he was 'already on the floor in the way and because he is a crackhead'. Murphy was then seen attempting to properly defrost her windscreen. A forensics officer said visibility was still poor despite her attempts.
Family impact statements
Mr Tomlinson's mum Michelle said in a statement read in court: 'He would do anything for anybody. He loved football from being able to walk. From playing it to watching it, he knew everything about the game. Since the day I lost my son, it changed all our lives. It was the worst day of my life. Whilst Darryl was in the road, Megan Murphy decided to get in her car and not defrost it properly. I really don't feel anything anymore since losing Darryl. If Megan Murphy had seen him or if the ambulance had done their job properly, then Darryl would still be here. I do feel the ambulance contributed to his death, but Megan Murphy was the one who took his life.'
Paul Tomlinson, known as 'Tommy', dad of Mr Tomlinson said: 'I have had many sleepless nights thinking about what he suffered. I wake up having these nightmares and feel like giving up on life. Sixteen months on, and my emotions are still the same as they were on that day. Nothing can make me understand why he wasn't safe. I hold the ambulance service accountable for not finding him - but I hold the girl accountable for taking his life. He was not only my son but my working colleague and friend - I think about him every single day. The day I lost Darryl was the day I lost half of me.'
Mr Tomlinson's brother, Lee, said: 'Darryl was not just my brother, he was my best friend, my idol and my biggest support. Since my brother was taken from me, I feel like he's taken a piece of me with him. [Murphy] has shown me and everyone else what type of character she is, whereas my brother was nothing of the sort.'
The case was adjourned until Wednesday (June 24), when the court will hear mitigation by Murphy's barrister John Dove. She will then be sentenced by judge Nicholas Clarke KC. The Manchester Evening News has approached the North West Ambulance Service and Greater Manchester Police for comment.
