A driver who killed a 20-year-old football coach after reaching speeds of almost 100mph at an unauthorised car meet has been jailed for eight years.
Mason Hodgson, 23, from Glen Road, Morley, Leeds, was driving his black Audi S3 at the unregulated event in Warrington, Cheshire, on April 10 2022 when he hit former England Schoolboys player Sam Harding as he stepped into the road.
On Thursday, Liverpool Crown Court heard that analysis of CCTV from the area shortly before the collision at around 9.30pm showed he was driving at speeds of up to 97mph.
Mr Harding’s mother Liz told the court: “Unauthorised car meets have to stop.
“The individuals responsible for organising them need to be identified along with all the drivers who take part.”
You travelled at speeds far in excess of the speed limit
She broke down in tears at points as she read her statement, during which she questioned how insurance companies allowed the events to take place for a “quick thrill”.
She said Mr Harding, who completed the dissertation for his degree in football management days before his death and was awarded a 2:1 posthumously, had been excited to attend his first car meet.
She added: “One reckless act has left our family with a life sentence of pain that grows deeper every day.”
The court heard Mr Harding, from Stockport, was a “talented footballer” and had been a coach and mentor to hundreds of children in his local area.
More than 20 members of his family were in court for the hearing while Hodgson’s parents and brother sat on the opposite side of the public gallery.
Paul Becker, prosecuting, told the court Hodgson and Mr Harding had been among hundreds of people who reportedly attended the car meet, which was advertised on Snapchat and initially held in St Helens, Merseyside.
A new location, in Kingsland Grange, Woolston, Warrington, was advertised on social media and cars moved to the area, the court heard.
The court heard Hodgson drove “like an idiot” on the motorway to get to the second location and once there drove circuits of the area.
Mr Becker said Jack Stocks was persuaded by friends to be a passenger in Hodgson’s car.
Mr Becker said: “They were in the car about 15 minutes. At least once during the laps Jack Stocks looked over at the speedometer and it was in the region of about 100mph.”
The court heard Hodgson would stop the car when he reached a “strip”, where someone would hold up a green light to indicate when there was a gap and he would drive at high speeds.
He was driving down the strip, which had a speed limit of 30mph, when Mr Harding stepped into the road.
He sounded his horn and swerved but was unable to avoid him, the court heard.
Sentencing him, Judge Neil Flewitt said: “You have an entrenched and cavalier attitude to driving at speed.”
He added: “You made a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road and you showed complete disregard for the risk of danger to others.
“You travelled at speeds far in excess of the speed limit.”
Police also found videos on Hodgson’s phone showing his car being driven on the motorway in the weeks before the crash at speeds of over 150mph.
The court heard he was convicted last year of five offences of failing to provide the identification of the driver in the clips.
Martyn Walsh, defending Hodgson, said: “Through me he wishes to apologise and say sorry for what happened on that night.”
Hodgson, who pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at a hearing last month, was also disqualified from driving for 10 years and four months.
