Man jailed for over seven years for road collision which killed a woman

A man has been jailed for seven year, four months today, Thursday 1 August, following a road traffic collision on the M62 near St Helens, where a woman was killed.

At a previous hearing on 2 July, Gary Toomey of Hollin Hey Road, Bolton, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in relation to the incident.

The court heard that at 11.35pm on Friday 24 September 2021, 34-year-old Victoria Bell, was driving a black Audi A3 on the M62 towards Manchester, between junctions 7 and 8, with her former partner Gary Toomey in the front passenger seat.  The pair who had been out in Liverpool city centre and were returning home.

An argument took place between them both, and Toomey took hold of the handbrake of her vehicle and pulled it causing the vehicle to lose control. This caused the Audi to collide with the central reservation.  

They both survived the initial impact, however silver Mercedes SUV then collided into Audi. Sadly Victoria died from the injuries sustained in that second impact.

Merseyside Police, North West Motorway Patrol Group and the North West Ambulance Service attended the scene.

Today he was sentenced to seven years, four months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court. He was also disqualified from driving for six years, 10-and-a-half  months.

Detective Sergeant Kurt Timpson, Lead Investigating Officer from Merseyside Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Our thoughts remain very much with Victoria’s family and her close friends. It has been a complex and prolonged investigation and a very difficult period of time for them, as their lives have been changed forever by this incident. They have been supported by a specially trained Family Liaison Officer throughout the case.  
 
“I welcome the sentence today and I would like to thank members of the public who helped at the scene that evening. 

“Toomey has destroyed a close family relationship by his shocking behaviour that night.  Any person travelling at speed in a moving vehicle on a motorway would instinctively know that to pull a handbrake would be highly likely to cause very serious injury or death, to them and other road users. It is simply beyond belief.”

Detective Sergeant Timpson added: “Road death is sudden and traumatic and causes unimaginable harm to people who become involved. This case was caused by the unlawful act of a passenger in his former partners vehicle and should never had happened.
  
“Merseyside Police will not tolerate any form of domestic abuse or controlling and coercive behaviour.  We will deal robustly with every report and work with partner agencies to prevent and reduce this type of crime.  We are also committed to the prevention of serious injury and death on the roads, to work towards Vision Zero – our strategy focused on reducing the amount of road traffic collisions in our region and to lower the number of people killed and seriously injured on our streets. 
 
“As Toomey begins his sentence today, Victoria’s family and close friendship group have to try and rebuild their own lives caused by his reckless behaviour.  I thank them for their patience and the dignified way they responded throughout this investigation.

“The sentence issued at Liverpool Crown Court today shows that the courts will deal robustly with offenders and acts as a stark message to anyone whose selfish and reckless actions end in such tragedy.”