Wigan horror smash: Convicted robbers jailed

Bolton Crown Court heard that Mark Wohler, who was at the wheel of a stolen Ford Fusion which crashed out of control and almost killed Christopher Rigby, did not tend to his stricken passenger but fled in the car he had just been racing with, driven by Stephen Grimshaw.

Both men – who were jailed in 2013 for a series of robberies and burglaries in the borough – are now beginning new prison terms after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Wohler, who has been banned from the road for 18 continuous years before the collision due to an appalling motoring record, had also admitted to taking the Fusion without the owner’s consent.

The 35-year-old was already serving a six-month term in HMP Berwyn, having admitted to Wigan magistrates in June to other offences relating to the same incident, namely driving while disqualified and when not insured, of failing to stop after an accident and failing to report it to police.

Now he has received another 33 months behind bars while 37-year-old Grimshaw, of HMP Forest Bank, was jailed for two years.

The hearing was told that the Fusion, which spun out of control on Bickershaw Lane, Abram, was being driven at such speed that after smashing into parked cars, it then rotated through the air to demolish a house’s garage and end up on its roof.

The collision badly injured Mr Rigby, but he was abandoned by Wohler and Grimshaw.

Firefighters cut Mr Rigby from the vehicle and he was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where his condition was at first feared to be life-threatening.

The court was told he suffered a fractured pelvis, multiple rib fractures, a collapsed lung and contusion, broken right arm which needed two metal plates, a 2ins gash over one eye and a 4ins laceration over an ear. He has no recollection of the October 6 2019 collision nor of the two days before it.

The hearing was told that Wohler knew he shouldn’t have been driving, having continuously been banned from the road since he was 17.

He had been convicted of dangerous driving in 2001 and told then that once he had served his disqualification he would have to take an extended re-test. But this he never did and was subsequently caught again in 2007 for driving while banned and hit with a further disqualification.

The hearing was told that the black Fusion was stolen from King Street, Leigh, at 12.40am on October 6, the owner having nipped into a pizza takeaway and left his keys in the ignition.

At 4am Wohler and Mr Rigby got into the car in Glebe Street and they and a Volkswagen Golf driven by Grimshaw began driving around local streets at speeds far in excess of the 30mph limit.

The race came to an abrupt end after four miles when Wohler lost control. The court heard it careered onto the footpath on the opposite side of Bickershaw Lane, along a grass verge and collided with several parked cars. The vehicle then spun through the air and smashed into the side of a house, landing upside down.

Wohler deserted his stricken friend and got into the Golf which drove off at speed.

Police were later able to track the vehicles’ journey using CCTV. Wohler was arrested the next day at Wigan Infirmary after presenting himself there as a patient.

As well as the prison sentences, Wohler was further banned from driving for 76 months after which he will have to take an extended test while Grimshaw is banned for two years and must take an extended test thereafter in order to be eligible to drive on the roads again.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here and viewing our offers ...