St Helens driver who left girlfriend to die after crash jailed

Police said Kevin Marsh tried to blame his dead girlfriend for the crash at a trial

A man who left his girlfriend to die after crashing his car into a bin lorry while under the influence of alcohol and drugs has been jailed.

Kevin Marsh lost control of his car in St Helens while driving at "grossly excessive speeds" on 5 July.

Merseyside Police said he fled the scene leaving mother-of-four Michelle Atherton, who died from her injuries.

The 42-year-old was jailed for 16 years at Liverpool Crown Court for causing death by dangerous driving.

Michelle Atherton was described by her family as "the best mum anyone could wish for"

Marsh, of Gaskell Street was also disqualified from driving for 18 years after he pleaded guilty on the second day of a trial.

Det Sgt Kurt Timpson said the sentence would act as "a stark message to anyone whose selfish and reckless actions end in such tragedy".

'Unimaginable harm'

Marsh's white Ford Fiesta went over to the wrong side of the road along Broad Okay Road near St Helens town centre on a wet Wednesday morning before he lost control and crashed into the front of a refuse truck, the court heard.

Ms Atherton, 47, suffered serious injuries and died in hospital shortly after the crash, while Marsh left the scene on foot but was later found and arrested.

Det Sgt Timpson said Marsh was "impaired through drink and drugs" and he was driving "vastly in excess of the speed limit" before the crash.

The lives of Ms Atherton's family have been "changed forever by this incident", he added.

In a tribute released after her death last year, her family described her as "the best mum that anyone could have ever dreamt or wished for" who was "taken from us too soon".

Det Sgt Timpson said: "Excess speed and driving while impaired through drink and drugs devastates lives and causes unimaginable harm to people who become involved in road crashes."