
We are welcoming the sentencing of a Newton-le-Willows man to nine years in prison for causing a fatal road traffic collision in Haydock in 2019.
At around 8.40pm on Wednesday 11 December, emergency services were called to the junction of Vista Road and Queens Road to reports of a Lexus being in collision with a number of parked and unattended vehicles.
19-year-old Adam Edwards from Thatto Heath, a rear seat passenger, was taken to hospital but sadly passed away later on that night.
The driver, 27-year-old Andrew Price, and two other passengers were taken to hospital for treatment of serious injuries, and have all since recovered.
Price, of Southworth Road, was today (Thursday 30 September) sentenced to nine years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving; three years in prison (to run concurrently) for causing serious injury by dangerous driving; and was disqualified from driving for nine years and six months.
Inspector Stuart McIver of our Roads Policing Unit said: “This was a devastating crash, caused by Price’s recklessness and disregard for the safety of himself and others in the car that night. That a young man lost his life is the absolutely tragic but avoidable consequence of the decisions Price made in driving at high speed in a residential area.
“We continue to support Adam’s family and pass on our sincere condolences for their loss. Perhaps today’s sentencing will provide some comfort after almost two years has passed. I also hope that the effect it has had on Adam’s family and friends and the wider community shows what can and does happen when vehicles are driven dangerously on our roads.
“Adam’s family have shown dignity and courage throughout this process and their words below should make others think twice about taking to our roads in the manner Price did that night.”
Excerpt from Victim Personal Statement of Lynn Edwards, mother of Adam
“Adam was 19 when he was killed. Had he been alive today Adam and my family would have just celebrated his 21st birthday. Instead Adam was cruelly taken from us. Not in a tragic accident but instead by the selfish choices made by the driver of the car he was travelling in.
“All of our lives were turned upside down on the evening of Wednesday 11th December 2019, when we were awoken at home by two police officers who had called to tell us that Adam had died in a car crash earlier that night. How do you deal with that type of news? I’m not sure that you do.
“The driver of that vehicle will never understand the pain and grief we as a family have gone through and will always go through.
“Our family life has been changed forever. We celebrated Adam’s 21st birthday without him. How can that be right? We will never experience the joy of watching him get married. Would he have had children? Our grandchildren, nieces and nephews to Adam’s brothers and sister.
“All of that has been taken away from us.”