Jail for man who removed woman's body from crash

A 28-year-old man has been jailed for eight years after causing the death of a 27-year-old woman by dangerous driving.

Steven Cunningham will serve a further eight years on licence.

Mother-of-three Charlotte McHugh was thrown through the front window of a car driven by Cunningham when it crashed in June 2021.

He pleaded guilty at Downpatrick Crown Court to nine charges including removing Ms McHugh's body from the scene of the crash in Dundonald.

Cunningham also admitted driving carelessly on the Comber Road while unfit through drink or drugs, driving while disqualified, possessing class C drugs and perverting the course of justice.

In the early hours of 1 June 2021 a crashed black BMW was found abandoned on the Comber Road.

The court heard Cunningham was the central figure in the case, though other people had been charged and sentenced for related matters.

The judge said Cunningham was the person solely responsible for the death of Ms McHugh and that he had been "a prime mover in taking her body from the scene", which "at its core was a determination to distance himself from his crimes out of self-interest and self-preservation".

After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Westbury said he hoped the sentencing brought closure for Ms McHugh's family.

"This was an extremely traumatic time for the family of Charlotte, as they sought justice for those involved in her death," he said.

"This has been a long and complex investigation and we as the Police Service of Northern Ireland hope this will show all victims of crime that we are committed to bring those responsible before the courts."

A witness saw the BMW being "reversed at speed", "doing donuts" and being driven erratically before the crash.

Shortly after 04:00 BST on 1 June the car crashed in to a grass verge.

Police were told an injured person had been moved from scene.

A call was later made from Ardmore Avenue in Dundonald, telling emergency services an injured person had been brought there.

Ms McHugh was treated at the house and brought to hospital where she died of her injuries, which included massive fractures and internal bleeding.

Her injuries were consistent with bring thrown through the windscreen and on to the road.

The court heard Ms McHugh was fatally wounded and the movement of her body and delay in treatment would be unlikely to have had any impact on the outcome.

Cunningham's driving was described by one of his co-accused as "out of control" and he was doing about 70mph.

He was on bail at the time of the collision and told police at the house in Ardmore Avenue that he was "breaching his bail to try to help" but was not the driver.

Ms McHugh's mother gave the court a victim impact statement which was quoted by the judge.

She said the loss of her daughter "leaves an emptiness that will not be fixed" and her daughter was treated like "a toy or an object".

She recalled how one of the victim's young children screamed for weeks after the Ms McHugh's death and would "reach out for their mother".

The court heard Cunningham had previous convictions, the vast majority of which were for motoring offences.

Cunningham's addiction issues were outlined to the court, as well as his remorse over the incident.

The judge said he had a high likelihood of reoffending and had persisted in his denial up to the day of the trial.

He will be disqualified from driving for 10 years from the date of his release and must re-take his driving test.