A CrossFit trainer has been sentenced to six years in prison for causing the death of a man she repeatedly drove over on an icy road. Megan Murphy, 26, was found to have driven with a windshield "completely covered with thick ice" and steered her car the wrong way down a one-way street when she struck Darryl Tomlinson, 31.

Tomlinson, an amateur footballer, had collapsed in the middle of the road in Marsh Green, Wigan, in the early hours of January 9 of the previous year after a night of drinking with friends. He lay in the road for over two hours before Murphy drove over him three times. She then reversed and drove over him again.

Following the incident, Murphy initially told police she had not seen Tomlinson, despite admitting to a friend that she had reversed over him. During the event, she referred to Tomlinson as a "smackhead" as he lay dying under her vehicle.

Earlier, neighbors had spotted Tomlinson slumped in the road and called emergency services at 5:05 a.m., nearly two hours after his initial collapse. However, due to an issue with their address recording system, neither police nor paramedics were able to locate him and never attended the scene. Tomlinson died in the street.

Murphy pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. The Recorder of Bolton, Judge Nicholas Clarke KC, noted that CCTV footage showed her attempting to clear her windshield for only three seconds, which was "hopelessly inadequate." He added that the other windows remained opaque and that she "deliberately chose to drive when you could not see properly" and "deliberately drove the wrong way down a one-way street."

Representing Murphy, John Dove stated that she had a prior good character and a clean driving record. He described her as "devastated" and a "broken woman." Dove explained that Murphy stopped initially because she thought she had hit a curb or something had fallen from a nearby building site. In a state of panic, she continued to drive forward and made two further maneuvers. She initially believed she had struck an animal before discovering it was Tomlinson.

Dove also mentioned that Murphy regretted her comment about Tomlinson's demeanor, which she made while in a "highly stressed state." He highlighted her background as a hardworking individual who served six years in the army as a chef before pursuing a career as a CrossFit athlete and personal trainer.

Prosecutor Rob Hall stated that Murphy had a "habit" of reversing out of an access lane and driving the wrong way down Pembroke Road to save time. Tomlinson had been out drinking with friends and was seen on CCTV stumbling and falling in the road around 3:19 a.m. He was described as "very drunk" and had likely consumed cocaine and cannabis. He made a voicemail to a friend asking for help, but his friend could not assist as Tomlinson did not know his own location.

A neighbor who went to de-ice his car around 4:40 a.m. saw Tomlinson "incoherent" and "unresponsive." Tomlinson's partner called for an ambulance at 5:05 a.m., but as previously noted, emergency services could not find him due to an incorrect address being recorded.

Murphy emerged from her house nearly 40 minutes later at 5:44 a.m. and made inadequate attempts to clear her windshield. At 5:48 a.m., she drove onto Pembroke Road, striking Tomlinson. Bystanders and a taxi driver attempted to alert her by waving and honking.

Tomlinson was pronounced dead at the scene. The post-mortem examination revealed multiple bruises and abrasions, with the cause of death being chest injuries and acute alcohol toxicity, although the alcohol was noted to have hastened his condition rather than directly causing death.

Detective Constable Carl Boydell called the incident "tragic and entirely avoidable," emphasizing the responsibility of motorists to ensure their vehicles are safe and to follow the rules of the road, especially in adverse weather conditions.