A man has been charged with killing a Wigan dad of six in a New Year's Day road smash

Jamie Evans, 30, of Wigan Lower Road, Standish Lower Ground, has been charged with causing the death of Gareth Roper by dangerous driving.

He is due to make a first appearance at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday May 31.

Mr Roper, a 35-year-old rugby player from Bryn, was in collision with a vehicle on Lily Lane, Bamfurlong, just hours into 2022.

How he came to be there is the subject of a separate investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Earlier that night police were called to his home over reports of a domestic incident there.

Mr Roper was arrested for a breach of the peace and put in the back of the police van without any shoes on.

Allegations have been made that he was then taken to Platt Bridge where he was assaulted by officers, de-arrested and abandoned in the town centre to make his way home several miles to Bryn in his bare feet.

It was while making this journey that the fatal crash took place.

In February Wigan Today reported that the IOPC had completed a probe into the circumstances leading up to Mr Roper’s death and it said that there could be a case to answer for those officers involved. It has since referred the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service.

An IOPC spokesman said at the time:“Our independent investigation, which followed a referral from the force, looked at the actions and decision-making of the officers involved, as well as their treatment of Mr Roper.

“We interviewed the officers under criminal caution and reviewed body-worn video and CCTV footage, as well as the relevant force policies and guidance.

“Following the conclusion of the investigation in December, we determined there was an indication the officers may have committed a criminal offence in relation to the decision to de-arrest Mr Roper and drop him off some distance from his home address. We have now referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider possible charges.

“It is important to note that a referral to the CPS does not necessarily mean that criminal charges will follow. It will now be for prosecutors to determine, applying the tests set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, whether charges should follow and, if so for whom and what those charges may be.”

After that announcement Gareth’s sister Chloé Sinclair told Wigan Today: “From what we have heard about what happened that right, we are pleased that the circumstances are being properly investigated.

"Whatever the outcome it’s not going to bring him back but we really do want answers.”

As far as Gareth is concerned, she added: “We all miss him so much. He was lovely and daft.

"He would do anything for those children. He would work seven days a week to provide for them.

"We go to his grave every other day.”