Former Ellesmere Port woman jailed for dangerous driving in Flint

Keira Ridler, of Hampson Avenue in Wrexham, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Thursday morning for sentence.

The 26-year-old, formerly of Marlborough Road in Ellesmere Port, had admitted two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving at a previous hearing.

Ryan Rothwell, prosecuting, told the court that on the evening of September 19, 2021, a car meet took place at Cheshire Oaks for motoring enthusiasts.

Up to 200 vehicles were present.

Later in the evening, an unknown individual advertised 'Mexico' on social media - a term from the American car meet scene denoting an illegal meet at which participants would drag race or otherwise drive illegally.

The location of that second car meet was the Manor Industrial Estate in Flint.

A number of vehicles attended, as did more than 100 pedestrians - congregating on the pavements around the site.

CCTV footage showed what happened in the course of the evening, with a number of vehicles racing up and down a straight, 30mph road.

Ridler, in her Nissan Juke, was seen driving up and down - not racing other vehicles, but certainly driving at speed.

The first victim, Ellie Blower, was in a VW Golf which was emerging slowly from a T-junction.

Ridler collided with the Golf, despite attempting evasive actions.

Analysis of the CCTV footage showed she had been traveling somewhere between 50mph and 115mph; but that at the point of impact, it was likely 60 to 70mph.

The court heard a basis of plea, accepted by the prosecution, stated Ridler had been travelling towards the lower end of that speed scale.

The second victim, Christopher Rakeshaw, had been on the verge on his phone at the time.

He recalled hearing screeching tyres and then being hit.

Mr Rakeshaw came to on the floor, some distance from where he had been stood.

He went into a coma for a week-and-a-half, having sustained "catastrophic" injuries.

After months in hospital, the now 26-year-old was confirmed to be tetraplegic - having lost the use of both arms and legs.

He now lives in an adapted bungalow with a team of six carers providing 24/7 care, which he will likely need for the rest of his life.

Keira Ridler (NWP) (Image: North Wales Police)

The court heard that in the immediate aftermath, he "pleaded with people in the crowd to kill him," because he didn't want to live with the injuries he perceived he had sustained.

Ms Blower sustained numerous injuries in the crash, including a fractured ankle, leg, wrist and severe abdominal bruising.

Eight months after the incident she still could not bear weight on her ankle and required anaesthetic injections to manage the pain as long as 11 months post-crash.

Ridler herself sustained whiplash and a displaced collarbone in the incident, and her passenger suffered a fractured wrist.

In interview, the defendant admitted she had been travelling over 30mph, but not significantly so.

She denied "speeding up and down the road," and initially denied her conduct had amounted to dangerous driving.

At first, she also blamed the driver of the VW Golf for the collision.

Richard Dawson, defending, told the court: "Plainly this was a tragic case which had catastrophic consequences for all concerned in the events that night.

"Our sympathies, of course, are expressed to the victims who sustained serious injuries; particularly Mr Rakeshaw.

"Frankly, one cannot conceive of more serous injuries which did not result in death.

"This is a young lady of previous good character with an otherwise clean driving record.

"We are rapidly approaching the third anniversary of the collision and for a young lady with that hanging over her, events and life have moved on - resulting in her pregnancy.

"Whatever sentence this court might ultimately pass will pale in comparison to the separation from her young child, now just 15 months old."

He said his client had attended the gathering due to her "passion for cars."

"All of them attended what we have to accept was an illegal car meet," he said.

"Ms Ridler drove in the context of that meet.

"This was in every sense for her an out of character event, as her record shows she is typically a careful driver.

"She is profoundly sorry and seeks to apologise for all that has happened."

Judge Niclas Parry told Ridler: "Your purpose in being there was to show off and attract attention.

"You did that, driving up and down a 30mph road far, far in excess of the speed limit.

"There was the inevitable collision and the consequences can only be described as catastrophic."

The Judge handed down an overall sentence of 20 months, and then took the court through his thought process as to whether the term could be suspended

Ridler sobbed in the dock as he concluded the case was simply too serious, and the jail time would have to be served immediately.

A driving ban of two years and 10 months was imposed.