John McDonald, 52, admitted causing death by dangerous driving after a 12-minute police chase through Birmingham ended when he hit Suzanne Cherry as she played golf
A rogue roofer who led police on a high-speed 70mph chase through Birmingham’s streets before smashing into a mother-of-three as she enjoyed a round of golf callously stepped over her body while escaping the scene, a court has been told.
Van driver John McDonald, 52, wreaked havoc on vehicles, travelled on the wrong side of carriageways, mounted kerbs and repeatedly rammed a pursuing police car at least eight times during a terrifying 12-minute chase before entering Aston Wood Golf Club in Shenstone, Staffordshire, where Suzanne Cherry was playing golf with her husband on April 11 last year. Shocking footage of the pursuit reveals how McDonald drove “without care for anyone” before the devastating tragedy.
Worcester Crown Court was told that 62-year-old Ms Cherry had been searching for her ball near a stream when McDonald struck her, inflicting multiple catastrophic injuries that proved fatal in hospital on April 15, the day before her 63rd birthday. Ms Cherry’s husband Clint Harrison called out her name to alert her as the van hurtled over an embankment, but she “could not possibly have got out the way,” the court heard.
Prosecution counsel Michael Burrows KC revealed that Mr Harrison yelled “You bastards, you’ve killed my wife” as McDonald, his son Johnny McDonald, 23 and fellow passenger Brett Delaney, 35, fled following the collision. Ms Cherry’s loved ones wept in the public gallery as the catalogue of injuries she had sustained were detailed, including multiple rib fractures, torn carotid arteries and lacerations to her liver and spleen.
Following multiple strokes, Ms Cherry would have faced severe disability had she survived her injuries, leading to the decision to cease treatment, reports the Mirror.
The motorist, who kept his gaze fixed on the floor throughout the proceedings whilst clutching a tissue, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving on Monday – the very day his trial was scheduled to begin – having previously denied manslaughter charges.
The court was told that on the morning of the tragic crash, the defendants – who had all confessed to conspiracy to commit fraud between February 17 and April 12 last year by falsely claiming roofing repairs were necessary when they weren’t – had been tailing an elderly customer to a cashpoint for payment after completing work at her property when they caught police attention.
The officer explained that her focus was drawn to the vehicle, a grey Nissan NV300, on Greenholm Road in Birmingham at approximately 10am when the middle seat passenger, Delaney, seemed to “quickly turn his head to the side to avoid looking at her.”
Upon noticing the van’s registration plate wasn’t properly aligned, she reversed her marked patrol car with the aim of speaking to the driver, but the vehicle sped away. Hitting speeds of up to 70mph, the pursuit across Birmingham’s streets witnessed numerous vehicles being damaged by McDonald’s van as he swerved between traffic, ran red lights, mounted pavements and attempted to ram the pursuing police vehicle at least eight times.
Following the crash involving Ms Cherry, all defendants abandoned the scene, and when John and Johnny McDonald were detained on suspicion of manslaughter on April 16, the older McDonald responded: “Someone died?”.
Delaney, who was apprehended on April 18, told police during questioning that both he and Johnny McDonald had attempted to persuade John McDonald to halt during the chase.
The court heard that all three defendants, operating under the false pretence of a business called Approved Roofs Ltd, had swindled elderly women out of thousands of pounds by conducting unnecessary and substandard roof repairs on their properties.
Mr Burrows stated they had demanded “exorbitant amounts for bad work”, leaving their elderly targets feeling coerced to “go along with it”.
Four separate victims – aged 61, 79, 83 and 88 – had been tricked into paying for unneeded roofing work, with one handing over nearly £10,000, plus an additional £7,000 required to fix the damage the defendants had inflicted on her roof.
Mr Burrows described the fraud as “sophisticated and required significant planning”, stating: “The offence was sustained over the course of two months. There were four victims and they were targeted on the basis of vulnerability – their age.”
Speaking about the police chase and subsequent crash, he stated: “The victim was a pedestrian, there were injuries to other victims and damage to other vehicles. There were other driving offences committed at the same time – these are all factors that increase the seriousness of the offence.”
Delivering his victim impact statement while maintaining eye contact with John McDonald in the dock, Mr Harrison described how his wife’s life was “violently and senselessly ended.”
He declared: “I stand before you today not as a man seeking vengeance, but as a man who had the very foundation of his life destroyed.
“Suzanne’s life was violently and senselessly ended by the actions of this defendant. This life was not abstract, it was the life of the brightest and most beautiful soul I ever met.”
He continued: “They valued their temporary freedom more than her right to live. The damage is irreversible.
“We are condemned to a lifetime of grief. They must be held fully accountable for dismantling our family.”
Ms Cherry’s brother, Adrian Cherry, portrayed her as “tough and resilient”. He expressed: “Sue was the victim of such cruel events. One minute enjoying a game of golf, the next ploughed down by a reckless act. My life will never be the same.
“I remember her zest for life and adventure. She lost her life in what should have been a safe place. To this day, I have no answers.”
The sentencing hearing is set to resume on Tuesday.