Mum who killed partner in high-speed horror crash breaks down in tears as she avoids jail term

-Credit:Manchester Evening News
-Credit:Manchester Evening News


A mum who killed her partner in a horror crash after driving twice the speed limit broke down in court as she was told she would not be going to jail.

Alicia Fairclough, 35, had been driving Thomas ‘Tom’ Benson’s Audi A8 when it crashed into a tree in Bolton on November 6 2021.

The couple, and their children, had attended a friend’s wedding at Rivington Barn before they left at around 10pm. Fairclough had been travelling at over double the 30mph speed limit at the time of crash on Lever Park Avenue in Horwich.

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In the aftermath of the collision, the couple’s daughter told a passer-by who came to help her: “Why did my daddy do that?”

She claimed that her dad had ‘grabbed’ and ‘pulled’ at the wheel of the car after the pair had ‘argued’. Fairclough said she decided to drive the car home on because Mr Benson was drunk and ‘staggering all over the place’.

Whilst Fairclough had been seen drinking during the day, she was not over the legal limit to drive, Manchester Crown Court heard.

She was seriously injured during the crash, leaving her with physical and neurological issues. As a result, Fairclough has no memory of what happened in the moments leading up to the collision and the collision itself.

She denied being responsible for the crash, but was found guilty following a trial of death by dangerous driving.

-Credit:Manchester Evening News
-Credit:Manchester Evening News

Reading her victim personal statement to the court, Mr Benson’s mum, Lydia Benson said: “No parent should have to say goodbye to their child.

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“I had to tell the children their beloved father had died whilst coming to terms with his death myself.

“It is an understatement to say they have suffered life changing traumatic events. Tom was my only son, my eldest child and big brother to two sisters.

“This has taken three years to come to this in this court room, and the truth should be heard.

“The truth is Tom is dead and your actions caused that, Alicia.”

Mr Benson’s dad, Tony Benson, wept as he read: “Trauma and sadness are still hanging over our family. He was loving, caring and devoted to his children. They are the living legacy of him.

“He was my best friend and he was my son.”

David James, mitigating, said that the loss of Mr Benson had been ‘devastating’ for all those who had known him, including Fairclough, and that the pair had planned to marry in June 2022.

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He said that since the collision she has sought to provide a stable home for their children and had started a university degree.

-Credit:MEN Media
-Credit:MEN Media

Mr James added that she was the primary carer for her kids and if she went to prison they would have to move out of the area. He added that she was not a ‘danger to society’ and she had no previous convictions.

Sentencing Fairclough, who broke down in tears, Judge Patrick Field KC said: “The death of Tom Benson demonstrates, clearly, that no man is an island.

“He was a piece of a much larger continent of family and friends who each have suffered, in their own way, with profound loss.”

He said there was ‘no intention to take a deliberate risk’. The judge concluded that their daughter recalled an argument which ‘may have distracted you’, including when Mr Benson removed his seatbelt.

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“The actions of the deceased victim [removing the seatbelt] contributed to the tragedy that ensued,” he said.

Stating that he must take into account the children, for whom Fairclough was their sole carer, the judge said he was able to suspend the jail term.

Fairclough, of Fairways, Horwich, was sentenced to two years in jail, suspended for two years and she was ordered to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.

She was also banned from driving for three years and must take an extended retest before getting behind the wheel again.