Wigan man pleads guilty to causing dad's death by dangerous driving on New Year's Day

Jamie Evans, 30, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared at Bolton Crown Court.

He was charged with fatally injuring Gareth Roper in a road smash on Lily Lane, Bamfurlong, in the early hours of New Year's Day 2022.

How Mr Roper, a 35-year-old rugby player from Bryn, 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.

Evans was remanded on bail to return to Bolton Crown Court on Friday, September 22, when he will be sentenced. In the meantime, he was given an interim driving disqualification.

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.