Man who killed Wigan grandmother during police pursuit jailed for more than 10 years

Chad Rimmington, 32, had taken cocaine before getting behind the wheel of a silver Audi TT on the afternoon of June 26 and refusing to stop for the police.

He was involved in a three-mile pursuit, reaching speeds of 78mph in 30mph zones, weaving between other vehicles and going through red traffic lights.

The car went through busy, residential areas along Bickershaw Lane, Abram, Lily Lane and Bolton Road, towards Ashton town centre, Bolton Crown Court was told.

It only came to an end when the Audi hit an Amazon van at more than 70mph – the driver of which had “no chance” of seeing the car – which then collided with 66-year-old pedestrian Kathleen Kirby

She had been walking home from Three Sisters nature reserve with her long-term partner Cliff Bullen and suffered “catastrophic injuries which were unsurvivable”.

Mr Bullen, an off-duty nurse and then paramedics tried to save Ms Kirby, but she died on the way to hospital.

Rimmington, of Siddow Common, Leigh, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and while unlicensed, uninsured and disqualified.

Sentencing, Recorder Nicholas Clarke, KC, said: “Kathleen Ann Kirby is clearly a much-loved member of a large family, many of whom have attended for these hearings. She was a mother, grandmother and in a loving relationship.

"She has been described respectfully as a matriarch, given the breadth and assistance of the support she gave to everyone. It is clear she was proud of her family and equally that was reciprocated by them.”

The court heard Rimmington was pulled from the car on Bolton Road, where he admitted being responsible, and was arrested.

But he refused to watch CCTV and dash-cam footage during a police interview and even said his driving was only dangerous “as soon as that officer started chasing me”.

He told the police he “had somewhere to be” and was “going to say goodbye to my girlfriend”.

The court had earlier heard his girlfriend took her own life 12 days earlier and he was going to the place where she died to end his own life

Tests showed Rimmington had three times the legal driving amount of cocaine in his system, which the Recorder, Mr Clarke said was “well-known to be capable of affecting someone’s ability to drive”.

He had never passed a driving test and was on bail at the time awaiting sentence for an offence of going equipped for theft, along with a trial for possessing a knife in public.

Mr Clarke said he had “seen and heard the tremendous pain” felt by Ms Kirby’s family in several emotional victim impact statements read in court and hoped Rimmington remembered what was said as he served his sentence.

He jailed Rimmington for 10 years and eight months – reduced by 12 months from 17 years for his “genuine remorse” and mitigating factors, then by a third for his early guilty plea.

A further sentence of 10 months was given, to run concurrently, for causing death by driving while uninsured, unlicensed or disqualified, and Rimmington was banned from driving for 10 years following his release from prison.