M60 drug driver who killed young son in crash is jailed

A driver who crashed his car after taking cocaine, killing his eight-year-old son, has been jailed.

Leon Clarke was driving on the M60 at 76mph (122 km/h) when he aquaplaned and lost control of his BMW on 28 February 2020.

His son Blake, who was in the back seat, later died in hospital.

Clarke, of Rochdale, was jailed for four years after admitting causing death by careless driving at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

The 40-year-old tested positive for cocaine by-products, with levels indicating he had taken the drug more recently then he admitted to police.

He had picked up his son from the boy's grandparents in Middleton with the intention of driving to Marple in Stockport when he crashed at 13:40 BST.

There had been heavy rain and there was standing water with spray coming from the road surface, which reduced visibility.

Clarke was driving on the outside lane near Junction 23 of the motorway when he lost control.

Greater Manchester Police said his car went into an irreversible spin and pivoted 180 degrees with the rear of the car hitting a highway maintenance van which had stopped on the hard shoulder after clearing debris from an earlier incident.

The rear of the car suffered massive damage.

Members of the public stopped and tried to revive the boy but he died shortly after 15:00 GMT.

Clarke told police he was not insured but believed he was fit enough to drive even though he had taken cocaine the previous night.

A spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Those drugs will have no doubt contributed to his impairment to drive carefully.

"He will have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life."

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