A career criminal has been jailed for 13 years and six months after a horrific police chase ended with the death of a grandmother on a peaceful Birmingham golf course.
A Chilling 12-Minute Rampage
On the morning of April 11 last year, John McDonald, 52, embarked on a reckless 12-minute and 41-second drive to evade police. Dashcam footage from the pursuing patrol car shows his grey Nissan van hurtling through residential areas at speeds up to 70mph.
The vehicle mounted pavements, narrowly missed pedestrians, drove on the wrong side of the road, and ran red lights. During the chase, the van, which also carried McDonald's 23-year-old son Johnny and their 35-year-old associate Brett Delaney, smashed into five other vehicles. One of those cars was carrying an 11-month-old baby.
At one point, McDonald stopped suddenly, reversed at high speed, and rammed the police car's bonnet. He repeated this manoeuvre 11 times before speeding off again.
A Fateful Turn onto the Fairway
Just after 10:24 am, McDonald turned into Aston Wood Golf Club in Sutton, Birmingham. He drove off the road and up a grassy hill towards the first fairway.
It was here that Suzanne Cherry, 62, was playing golf with her husband, Clint Harrison. The couple had started their round early on the warm, cloudless spring day. Suzanne was searching for her ball near a small stream when the van, travelling at 41mph, headed straight for her.
Her husband watched in "helpless horror" as the van struck her. Suzanne suffered multiple rib fractures, torn carotid arteries, and lacerations to her liver and spleen. She was airlifted to hospital where a leg was amputated, but a CT scan revealed irreparable brain damage. She died four days later, the day before her 63rd birthday.
In a callous act, John McDonald stepped over Suzanne's body before fleeing the scene with the two other men. Clint Harrison screamed: "You b*****ds have killed my wife."
A Criminal Past and Inadequate Justice
The trio were arrested five days later at a Ford dealership in Worcester, where they were attempting to hire another van. When apprehended, John McDonald blithely asked police: "Someone died?"
At Worcester Crown Court this week, he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He was sentenced to 13 years and six months, but will serve only two-thirds, meaning he could be released in eight years. His son Johnny was jailed for 32 months, and Brett Delaney faces 28 months.
For Suzanne's family, the sentence is "far, far from enough." The court heard McDonald was a hardened career criminal with nine previous convictions for 14 offences, including burglary and fraud targeting elderly victims. He had been released from a six-year sentence for fraud in 2022 after serving just three years.
The chase began after police spotted the van following a 71-year-old woman to a cash machine. The officers had become suspicious as the trio were involved in a "cowboy roofing" scam, conning vulnerable people out of thousands of pounds for unnecessary or non-existent repairs.
Suzanne's husband, Clint, 63, said the family's life had been destroyed. The couple had been planning retirement trips and were excited about the imminent arrival of Suzanne's first grandchild. A baby girl was born just three weeks after Suzanne's death.
Clint, who has not returned to a golf course since the tragedy, said: "She was killed on a peaceful golf course, an innocent bystander... They valued their freedom more than her right to live."
