Personal trainer repeatedly ran over man collapsed in road after failing to defrost windscreen
A woman has been handed a six-year prison sentence for causing death by dangerous driving after failing to see a man lying in the road because her windscreen wasn't properly defrosted.
Megan Murphy hit Darryl Tomlinson one wintry morning in January 2025 after failing to properly de-ice the windscreen of her car.
A court in Bolton has heard that the personal trainer got into her Citroen DS3 and proceeded to drive on the wintry morning, despite her view of the road being obstructed.
It's understood that she had also been driving the wrong way down a one-way street when the incident occurred.
Advert
Meanwhile, Tomlinson had collapsed in the road after slipping on ice, following a night out drinking with friends.
The court heard that neighbours attempted to alert Murphy to Tomlinson's presence on the road, with one witness shouting 'Stop' and 'Go back', while another sounded their car horn.
Murphy is then said to have brought her car to a stop inches away from hitting the amateur footballer, but was unable to correctly understand what was being indicated due to her windscreen not being properly de-iced.
She then drove forward, passing over Mr Tomlinson, and moments later reversed back over him.
The 26-year-old then drove forward again, causing the front wheel of her vehicle to travel over Tomlinson, who became trapped beneath the driver’s side of the car.
Neighbours rang an ambulance for Tomlinson, with the 31-year-old later being pronounced dead after suffering from crush injuries.
As emergency services fought to save Tomlinson's life, Murphy rang a friend for help, with the court hearing that she referred to Tomlinson as a 'smackhead' on the call.
"I’ve ran him over but it’s a smackhead," she told her friend.
Police later seized Murphy's phone after the incident, revealing a text message from a friend which read: "Make sure ur windows are defrosted or have some vision out of it and u won’t get f**ked because he was already on the floor and in the way. If he is a crackhead that explains that."
Murphy has since admitted to causing death by dangerous driving and has received a six-year prison sentence.
It has also been revealed that a neighbour had first alerted emergency services that Tomlinson was passed out in the road an hour before Murphy drove her car, but in a tragic turn of events, neither police or the ambulance successfully responded to the call.
An investigation into North West Ambulance Service is now underway.
"We are sorry for the mistakes made in the management of the 999 calls received for Darryl, and we deeply regret the shortcomings in our response," a spokesperson for North West Ambulance Service said in relation to the incident.
"We have been open with Darryl's family throughout and are committed to taking action following what happened, to reduce the risk of this happening again."
Meanwhile, both Tomlinson's mother and father spoke of the impact of losing their son, describing him as someone who 'loved football' and would 'do anything for anyone'.
"I struggle to put into words how I feel about losing my son, and all I can say is that I really don’t feel anything anymore since losing Darryl," mum Michelle said, while dad Tommy added: "You cannot explain the loss of a child unless you have suffered it. It’s a pain and emptiness like nothing you will ever experience.
"I talk to Darryl every single day, shedding tears every time."
Brenna Cooper