Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Friday, 16th August 2024, at 14:20hrs
A man has today been sentenced following an earlier hearing in which he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
In a statement released after sentencing, Lancashire Police said,
“A driver has today (16th August 2024) been jailed for causing the death of a man in Accrington.
Our officers came across the aftermath of a grey BMW 318i colliding into and a tree at speed which happened on Royds Avenue, Accrington, Lancashire at around 9:48pm on 10th December 2022.
Despite the best efforts of members of the public and the emergency services, the passenger, 29 year old Thomas Culshaw from Accrington, died on arrival at hospital having suffered a serious head injury.
The driver, 26 year old Andrew Blackburn, was arrested the following day.
Prior to the fatal collision, Blackburn had been a passenger in the car, along with three others, and the driver. The car failed to stop at a red light, and was subsequently stopped by officers. Whilst the driver was detained, the other four people got back into the car and made off, with Blackburn driving.
Blackburn had a provisional driving licence, was not insured, and didn’t have consent from the owner to drive the vehicle. Conditions were wet and temperatures were freezing, with heavy snow on the ground. Blackburn drove the car up to 78mph in a 30mph zone, at some points driving on the wrong side of the carriageway.
Approximately three minutes later the car collided into a tree and Thomas was thrown from the vehicle. Thomas was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision.
Crash data recovered from the vehicle shows that five seconds prior to the initial impact the car was travelling at 76mph in a built up residential area with a 20mph speed limit.
Within seconds of the collision, the driver, Blackburn, ran away from the scene of the collision and made no attempts to check if any of the passengers were injured.
Blackburn, of St Pauls Close, Clitheroe, appeared at Burnley Crown Court today and was sentenced after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and taking a vehicle without owner’s consent.
He was jailed for 7 years and 4 months and was disqualified from driving for 5 years. He will have to pass an extended retest.
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