Man jailed following fatal collision in Greater Manchester

Guilty: Carl Yates

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A man has been jailed for more than five years following a fatal collision in Greater Manchester.

Carl Yates, 25, of Baron Street, Darwen in Bolton pleaded guilty to causing the death of Jason Kenealy by careless driving while under the influence of alcohol, at a previous hearing.

He was sentenced to 5 years, 4 months imprisonment, banned from driving for 6 years and ordered to take an extended driving test before reclaiming his licence, at Bolton Crown Court.

The incident occurred on Saturday 25th June last year when Yates's Vauxhall Corsa VXR ploughed into a Toyota Corolla Verso at the junction of Old Kiln Lane and Chorley Old Road, Smithills, Bolton.

Forced off the road, the Corsa struck a wall and burst into flames. Its front seat passenger Kenealy, 32, died from multiple injuries in hospital shortly after.

None of the three occupants of the vehicle were wearing seatbelts, and Yates also sustained injuries in the crash.

Police say that Yates, who was twice over the legal drink-drive limit, swerved across the path of the Toyota, giving the driver no time to react.

A family from Nottingham were in the other vehicle. A 41-year-old woman in the passenger seat is still undergoing treatment for the wounds she sustained, 12 months on from the crash. The driver and three children suffered minor injuries.

Sergeant Jeff Hollick of the Road Policing Unit at Leigh said: "Yates was reckless in several ways on the evening of the collision. He was twice over the drink drive limit, and this may have lead to him turning across the path of the oncoming vehicle believing he could get through the junction.

"That he didn't kill anyone else in the collision is down to two reasons; the actions of several members of the public who dragged Yates, his rear seat passenger, and Jason from the burning Corsa, and the fact that the family in the Toyota were correctly seated and belted.

"The woman injured was in a critical condition and still needs operations. The effects of this collision remind us that drinking and driving does cause serious and fatal collisions, and that wearing your seat belt and using the correct child seats saves lives."

At the launch of GMP's Summer Drink Drive campaign for 2012, in partnership with the other emergency services, Inspector John Armfield from Greater Manchester Police⿿s Roads Policing Unit said: "Police officers and colleagues in the fire and rescue and ambulance service face the carnage and devastation caused by selfish drink drivers far too often".

"Going to someone's home and telling their loved one's that he or she will not be coming home due to the thoughtless actions of a drink driver is without doubt the worst duty that can fall on a police officer."