‘Cowardly’ killer driver tried to cover his tracks after mowing down mum
A ‘COWARDLY’ driver struck a mum while doing twice the speed limit – then stopped to try to cover his tracks rather than help, a court heard.
Connor Faulkner, 27, was sentenced to seven years in prison with a further three on extended licence after admitting a string of charges including causing the death of Joanne Whyte by dangerous driving.
He had no licence, no insurance and was banned from the road when he got behind the wheel of his grandad’s powerful BMW 220D lease car without his knowledge, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Faulkner, of Peak Forest Close, Hyde, also had an appalling record of driving offences.
At around 1am on July 12, Faulkner drove out of a petrol station in Denton and hit speeds of up to 73mph in a 30mph zone, overtaking other vehicles and going through a red light, before he struck 49-year-old Joanne as she was crossing the road with friends.
The mum-of-three had left Denton Working Men’s Club following the England-Italy final of Euro 2020.
David Lees, prosecuting, told how Faulkner had a passenger, Calvin Cousins, in his car who he was supposed to be dropping at home when the collision occured.
“Connor Faulkner in fact drove straight past his road but didn’t respond when that was pointed out to him,” said Mr Lees. “All of a sudden Mr Cousins heard a loud bang and Mr Faulkner said ‘I think I hit something.’”
The BMW then ploughed into a parked van and came to a halt, the court heard.
Faulkner got out but rather than go to help Mrs Whyte who lay fatally injured in the road, he began picking up pieces of debris, throwing the BMW’s bumper over a fence in a bid to get rid of evidence. A resident tried to stop him leaving the scene, but after a short time he drove off, the court heard.
Mr Lees added that Faulkner ‘would have been well aware’ by that time that someone was seriously injured. Paramedics attended on Stockport Road in Denton but Joanne was pronounced dead at 2.12am.
Faulkner was later traced to his home address in Hyde where he was arrested. Police found a small cannabis farm with a street value of up to £6,000, the court heard. Faulkner claimed it was for his personal use.
In heartbreaking scenes, Joanne Whyte’s father John took to the witness box to read a lengthy victim personal statement out in court.
Recalling the moment he was told his daughter was dead, he said: “My world fell apart there and then. I sat there in disbelief at the words I was hearing, how could this be happening to us? Why was this happening to us?”
Mr Whyte had to break the news of Joanne’s death to her grown-up sons Tom and Daniel, as well as her then 10-year-old boy Malachy.
Joanne was a loving mother and gran and would save money to take her family on holiday, the court heard. “Something they all looked forward to will never happen again,” Mr Whyte said. Finishing his statement, Mr Whyte fought back tears as he addressed Faulkner directly in the dock and said: “You have no compassion or remorse – in fact, do you know the meaning of those words? You are a coward.”
Many of Joanne’s family remain unable to handle their fury at Faulkner, the court heard. Jas Mann, defending, insisted Faulkner does feel ‘genuine remorse’ for his actions.
He told the court how Faulkner is himself a father to a young boy. Sentencing, Judge Mark Savill ran through Faulkner’s horrendous record of offending and numerous second chances that had been wasted. He was first sent to a Young Offenders Institution for dealing cocaine and cannabis when he was 19 years old, the court heard.
In May 2015, he received a suspended sentence for dangerous driving. In 2018 and 2020, he again received suspended sentences for driving while disqualified. “You may now be sorry,” Judge Savill told Faulkner. “But it has taken killing someone to bring you to your senses.”
As well as jailing him, the judge also banned Faulkner from driving for eight years.
Faulkner also admitted causing death by driving while disqualified, causing death by driving without insurance, failing to stop after a collision, failing to report a collision and possession of cannabis.