A dad killed his eight-year-old son after his BMW aquaplaned on the M60 while he was 13 times the drug-driving limit.
Leon Clarke had just picked his two young sons up from their grandparents' home shortly before he "lost control" of his vehicle and smashed into a lorry. His eldest son, Blake Consterdine, died in hospital after suffering serious injuries in the horror crash, near Audenshaw, on February 28, 2020.
At Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday (October 10), Clarke, 40, was jailed for four years after admitting causing death by careless driving whilst over the drug driving limit. He also pleaded guilty to causing death by driving while uninsured.
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Prosecutor Robin Kitching told the court that Clarke had picked Blake and his six-year-old brother up from their grandparents' home in Middleton at about 1.40pm on the day of the tragedy.
As Clarke drove home along the M60, Blake was sitting in the back seat of the BMW 3 Series while his younger brother was a front seat passenger. It was raining heavily at the time and there was a 'significant amount' of water on the carriageway, the court heard.
The build-up of water is believed to have been caused by a blocked drain and signs on the motorway warned that it was "liable to flooding".
As Clarke drove past junction 23, his BMW was estimated to be travelling at about 76mph in the outside lane. However, as he indicated to move left, he lost control of the vehicle.
"It's clear that loss of control was caused by Mr Clarke aquaplaning on standing water across the carriageway," Mr Kitching told the court.
Clarke attempted to brake but the BMW veered across three lanes before the rear of the vehicle collided with a highways maintenance lorry parked on the motorway's hard shoulder. The truck had been called out to assess damage caused during another incident in which a vehicle aquaplaned earlier that day.
Other motorists stopped at the scene after witnessing the collision and pulled Blake and his brother from the BMW. While his brother suffered minor injuries, Blake was unconscious and had "serious head and internal injuries".
A fire officer who attended the scene recalled hearing Clarke say he had "killed his son" as he held Blake. Firefighters and paramedics performed CPR on Blake before he was taken to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.
Despite the best efforts of medics, he was pronounced dead that same afternoon. Blake's brother was also taken to hospital along with a highways worker, who was in the lorry at the time of the crash.
Following the incident, Clarke was arrested by police. Tests showed he had 680mg of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, in his blood - more than 13 times the legal limit of 50g. Clarke, of Red Lane, Rochdale, was also not insured to drive the BMW at the time of the incident, the court heard.
When officers examined the BMW, they found its rear tyres to be in "poor condition", said Mr Kitching. The tread on both tyres was below the legal limit while one had a slow puncture with a screw embedded in it.
The lack of grip on the tyres is believed to have contributed to the vehicle having aquaplaned.
When interviewed by police, Clarke admitted having failed to check the tyres when he purchased the car. He told officers he had taken 0.5g of cocaine the night before the incident but said he "felt fine" and had been working as a delivery driver before picking up his sons.
In an emotional victim impact statement read out in court, Blake's mother, Victoria Consterdine, described her son as "cheeky" and "a joker", adding that he "loved life and his family". She also revealed the devastating effect that Blake's tragic death has had on her and her family.
"For me, my life is over," she said. "I live in a continuous nightmare that I'm yet to wake from. This nightmare will continue for the rest of my life."
Ms Consterdine said she was no longer able to work and had "lost her job" following Blake's death.
"I have gone from a working mother with two boys to someone who can't even complete simple tasks," she told the court.
In a separate statement, Blake's grandmother, Christine Consterdine, said the day of his death was "the most horrendous day of our lives". "All of hearts exploded into tiny shattered pieces, broken forever," she added.
She continued: "Blake did not want to die. He enjoyed life so much and his dad took it all away from him."
Philip Barnes, mitigating for Clarke, said the defendant was "sorry" for his actions and was of "previous good character".
He added: "This is not the sort of sorry that comes from self-pity or fear of the consequences. He is sorry that what he did means his son is no longer here with his family. Nobody will ever blame him like he blames himself."
Mr Barnes continued: "Whatever Leon Clarke has done wrong, he has lost his son too."
Sentencing Clarke, Judge Mark Savill described Blake's death as "tragic and unnecessary". He told the defendant that the "parlous state" of the BMW's tyres and the speed he was travelling at had "undoubtedly" contributed towards the vehicle aquaplaning.
However, he said there was no evidence to suggest the drugs in his system had affected his driving at the time. Clarke was also banned from driving for four years and will be required to sit an extended retest.
Speaking following the hearing, Police Sergeant Emma Kennedy from GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “Blakes death was entirely preventable. His two son’s safety should have been at the forefront of his mind. Instead, he took cocaine in the hours leading up to collecting them from their grandmother.
"When he joined the motorway, he did not drive to the weather conditions and drove above the speed limit despite the surface water and spray. The loss of Blake is not only felt by his family, but by his school friends.
"Blake should have been starting his journey at secondary school this year. The devastation of Blake's death has affected everyone that loved and knew him. His death touching members of the public and the emergency services who tried to help on that day.
“On behalf of Blake’s family and GMP, I would like to thank the members of the public who stopped and provided first aid to Blake, along with Highways employees, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, North West Ambulance Service, Air Ambulance and Manchester Royal Children’s hospital who all desperately tried to save Blake.
“This should be a reminder to any motorist who chooses to drive having taken drugs, for those who do not drive to the weather conditions, and for those people who drive with insufficient tread on their tyres. It can take all of these things, or even just one thing for a journey to end in tragedy – so please remember that your actions can have fatal consequences.”
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