A woman has been handed a six-year prison sentence after admitting to causing the death of a man by dangerous driving, following an incident where she drove with a significantly obstructed view due to a frozen windscreen. Megan Murphy, 26, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court after pleading guilty to the charge related to the death of 31-year-old Darryl Tomlinson.
The tragic event unfolded on the morning of 9 January 2025 on Pembroke Road in Wigan. Mr Tomlinson had collapsed in the street hours before he was struck by Murphy's vehicle. Greater Manchester Police reported that Murphy entered her car around 05:47 GMT on the icy morning and reversed from an alleyway, driving the wrong way down the one-way street. Surveillance footage clearly depicted her windscreen and windows as being heavily frosted, severely impeding her vision of the road ahead.
Despite shouts and a car horn from witnesses attempting to alert Murphy as she approached Mr Tomlinson, she continued to drive. She initially stopped mere inches from him after the warnings but, due to the poor visibility, was unable to discern what the bystanders were indicating. She then proceeded to drive forward over Mr Tomlinson, reversed back over him, and drove forward over him once more, trapping him beneath the driver's side of her car.
A witness promptly contacted the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), who in turn alerted the police. Officers arriving at the scene used a witness's car jack to free Mr Tomlinson and began administering CPR. NWAS personnel arrived shortly thereafter, but Mr Tomlinson was sadly pronounced dead at approximately 06:21. The court heard that Murphy later made a phone call to a friend, stating: "I've ran him over but it's a smackhead."
In deeply moving victim impact statements, Mr Tomlinson's family expressed their profound grief. His mother, Michelle, described feeling "empty inside" since her son's passing, remembering him as "a loving and caring young man" who adored football. His father, Paul, spoke of "a pain and emptiness like nothing you will ever experience." Mr Tomlinson's brother, Lee, conveyed his struggle to comprehend why Murphy failed to defrost her windows and drove with no vision, adding that her phone call to a friend had caused him further pain.
Detective Constable Carl Boydell described the incident as "truly tragic and entirely avoidable," emphasising the critical importance of ensuring full visibility by properly clearing car windows, especially in cold weather conditions. Greater Manchester Police confirmed they had referred an earlier call to NWAS regarding a man in the road, where the location was incorrectly recorded, leading to initial difficulties in locating Mr Tomlinson. The force's Professional Standards Department reviewed the matter and found no criteria for further investigation.