Driver who ignored warnings jailed for fatal crash

A man who ignored doctors' warnings not to drive has been jailed for killing a pensioner in a head-on crash.

Noel Peter Collins, 35, killed 75-year-old George Jackson when his Toyota RAV4 veered on the wrong side of the A595 in Cumbria in July 2024, hitting Jackson's Honda Civic.

Carlisle Crown Court heard Collins had failed to disclose a diagnosis of probable temporal lobe epilepsy to the Driving Vehicle Agency (DVA) in his native Northern Ireland, knowing it would likely result in the loss of his licence.

Sentencing, judge Nicholas Barker told Collins he had placed his priority to drive "far and above the safety of others".

"Ultimately George Jackson and his family have suffered an unbearable loss through your recklessness and neglect."

Collins, formerly of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, must also serve a five-year driving ban when released from custody, and take an extended re-test.

The court heard Collins had suffered repeated medical episodes over many years and failed to take anti-epilepsy medication before being discharged by the epilepsy service in 2023.

In April 2024 he was subject of a DVA investigation, who deemed him a "source of potential danger" after he was found unconscious in a vehicle.

The court heard Collins, latterly of Holme, failed to disclose his diagnosis and did not reply to the DVA's requests for more information.

In the days before the fatal crash, Collins suffered insomnia and sickness following the abuse of an ADHD drug, telling loved ones he had not slept for a week.

He visited hospital three times and said he was hallucinating. He was given a number of warnings not to drive and took an antihistamine with a sedative side effect.

After leaving a Lancashire hospital on the afternoon of 30 June, Collins returned to Cumbria where a dash-cam captured him on the M6 leaving the Southwaite services slip road the wrong way, before performing a U-turn.

Moments later, after leaving the motorway at junction 42, he veered off the carriageway and crashed through fencing.

He declined medical treatment and was transported by a police officer to Carlisle city centre.

The crash that killed Wigton man Jackson happened just after midnight on 1July at Bothel, between Cockermouth and Wigton.

The court heard Collins had no memory of the M6 crash, nor the fatal journey he then undertook on the A595 which cost Jackson his life.

At the scene in the aftermath, Collins' behaviour included pulling down his trousers and pants to expose his buttocks, lying spreadeagled in the road and jumping up in front of approaching traffic.

A group of medical experts instructed by court lawyers concluded this was likely to be explained by him "suffering epilepsy and either having a seizure or being in a post-seizure confusional state".

Collins admitted causing Mr Jackson's death by driving a Rav 4 dangerously on the A595, and also the earlier dangerous driving of a Peugeot van on the M6.

Barrister Nicholas Rhodes KC, defending, said Collins was remorseful and otherwise a "responsible, quiet, soft young man".

An impact statement read in court by the victim's daughter-in-law Sarah Kirkbride said he "lived a full life but importantly he had so much more life still to live".

"George Jackson was not just a person, he was part of our family. His presence ran through generations of it and, consequently, so does his absence."

Cumbria Police's Det Sgt Deborah Story said the case highlighted the importance of alerting authorities of medical issues.

"Collins' behaviour over many years was completely self-serving, with a total disregard for anyone else. His only consideration was what suited him," she said.

Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram and listen to Radio Cumbria on BBC Sounds.