Teen who killed 'Litherland Running Man' with stolen car jailed

The car that Wright drove had been stolen in a burglary in the early hours of that day

A teenager who struck and killed a keen runner in a stolen car before ploughing into a garden has been jailed.

Merseyside Police said Lewis Wright struck David Francis while driving a stolen black Audi S8 and then crashed into a garden in Morgan Mews, Netherton, on 13 April.

It said Mr Francis was "affectionately known" as the "Litherland Running Man".

The 17-year-old was sentenced to four years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving.

Wright, from Netherton, can be named after restrictions were lifted by Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, the force said.

It said the Audi he was driving had been stolen in a burglary in the early hours of that day in the Harrison Drive area of Rainford.

Wright was also charged with causing death while uninsured and aggravated taking of a motor vehicle without consent.

He admitted causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing.

Speaking after sentencing, Det Insp Jay Halpin said it was truly a horrific incident in which an innocent member of the public was tragically killed by a stolen car.

"David was very well-known in the area and would regularly be seen doing what he loved, which was running," he said.

"Nobody can begin to understand the impact [that] the circumstances of David's sudden death [have] had on his family and friends. But I hope that this conviction will give them a sense of justice.

"Also I hope that Wright reflects... on the fatal consequences and distress he has caused."