Killer driver from Blackburn sentenced to 12 years behind bars

A Blackburn man who took videos and boasted about driving dangerously has been jailed for 12 years.

Caleb Mansfield-Marr, 22. of Blackburn, Lancashire was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by disqualified driving, causing death by driving when uninsured, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by disqualified driving.

Last year, on 5 August 2023 a 74-year-old woman was driving her car, a Toyota, along Ashton Road in Bredbury with her husband of 50 years who was sat in the front passenger seat.

As the woman's car approached the junction of Lingard Lane, because of the traffic lights, the driver stopped the vehicle and waited to turn right into Lingard Lane.

At the same time, Mansfield-Marr was driving his car along Ashton Road towards the junction of Lingard Lane. He was driving straight towards the car and several witnesses in the area at the time reported his driving as dangerous, as he was seen performing undertaking manoeuvres and driving too fast for the conditions that day.

An appropriate gap in the traffic presented itself and the woman started to turn her car right onto Lingard Lane and as Mansfield-Marr approached the same junction he overtook several other vehicles and was travelling in the region of 64mph in a 30mph area. He subsequently collided with the car as it was making the right turn into Lingard Lane.

In the moments just after the collision, members of the public quickly ran to assist while waiting for emergency services and performed lifesaving first aid to the passenger of the car.

The woman received serious and potentially life changing injuries and spent weeks in hospital. Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the passenger, 76-year-old Jack Howe, sadly passed away on 25 September because of his injuries.

Mansfield-Marr was also taken to hospital for his injuries but decided to discharge himself from hospital the same day as the collision.

After the collision, Mansfield-Marr who was 21 when officers were investigating the death of Jack was found to be speeding. He was doing a 71mph in a 60mph zone in November 2021 and was ordered to attend a retraining course. In May 2022, he exceeded the speed limit again on a motorway and was convicted with three penalty points added to his licence.

Months later in September 2022, Mansfield- Marr again decided to commit a road traffic offence and was found later by officers to be driving a vehicle without insurance. Days later, he had a collision with another vehicle and failed to stop to assist officers at the scene.

With his history of breaking the law and not holding his licence for more than a year he was disqualified from driving until October 2023 and would have to face reassessment.

At the time of the collision he had no valid insurance, he didn’t have a driving licence, and was still disqualified. He was arrested on Friday 29 September 2023.

Police Sergeant Louise Warhurst from our Serious Collision Investigation Unit said; “Firstly, our thoughts and condolences remain with Jack’s family after he passed away in such tragic and terrible circumstances.

“I would like to thank all the members of the public that tried to assist Jack and gave lifesaving first aid at the scene of the collision and to everyone who came forward to assist us with our investigation.

“Mansfield-Marr is a young man with a truly appalling driving history, and he bears full responsibility for this tragedy.

“During our investigation, we uncovered a number of videos that were taken on Mansfield-Marr’s phone showing him driving dangerously at astonishing speeds. In one of the videos we found, Mansfield-Marr was driving at speeds exceeding 80mph on a motorway with his feet crossed and resting out of the window while using cruise control.

“This is a dangerous man who believes the rules and laws that all other road users abide by daily do not apply to him. At the time of the collision, he was a disqualified driver, but even that did not deter him from driving dangerously and at speeds that were wholly inappropriate for the conditions. He acted so brazenly, not caring that he could be caught.

“I would like to remind those who think they can ignore the speed limits and drive dangerously to think twice. Your actions can devastate innocent members of the public in a split second, Jack’s family are continuing to mourn the loss of a much-loved family member and no one deserves to lose a loved one this way.

“Dangerous drivers will not be tolerated across Greater Manchester. We will deal with you robustly to keep people safe from illegal and irresponsible drivers in our communities.”

Paying tribute to Jack, his wife said: “The morning of 25 September 2023 changed my life forever, I became a widow.

“My lovely kind and caring husband of fifty years had passed away. No more companionship, conversations, laughs or celebrations to share together.

“I am healing from my injuries, but nothing can heal my loss of losing Jack, my husband and my best friend.”