Man jailed for 25 years after mowing down headteacher and dragging him under his car for more than one mile

During his trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, the court heard how Richardson, 35, drove straight through give-way markers at a junction in Altrincham and into the path of Mr Mullins.

He then fell onto his bonnet and windscreen before he was drawn under the car and became entangled.

The defendant, of no fixed address, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years by Judge Mrs Justice Brunner KC at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

Sentencing Richardson on Monday, the judge told him he had shown an “astonishing degree of disregard for human life”.

She said: “For every moment you carried on, you were knowingly using your heavy vehicle to cause serious injury to a man who was trapped, injured and completely helpless as a result of your actions.

“You did that because you decided escaping from the scene of an accident was more important than a human life.”

During the incident, Mr Mullins, a father of two, became entangled in the suspension of the 4×4 vehicle as Richardson continued to drive.

Prosecutors told the court the defendant “was aware” Mr Mullins was trapped inches below his feet shortly after the collision in Paddock Lane, Warburton.

He drove to a secluded farm track in Wet Gate Lane, Lymm, 1.3 miles from the collision point in a bid to dislodge Mr Mullins, who was “the single, solid piece of evidence of what he was driving away from”.

When his victim was finally released, he was driven over as Richardson reversed and drove away.

A motorcyclist followed a trail of blood and discovered Mr Mullins alone, barely breathing on a grass verge, the court heard.

Richardson’s front seat passenger, cousin Gabrielle Debotte, told the court that they both heard “moaning” from outside as he drove from the collision scene.

In a victim impact statement read at the sentencing hearing, Mr Mullins’s wife of 27 years, Sarah, spoke of the “all-consuming lethargy that makes it feel difficult to put one foot in front of another” since his death.

She said: “My past, present and future have been brutally and callously torn apart, my present is empty and often seems to be without purpose.

“The fact that Michael had to endure such a violent and painful death is an open wound that refuses to heal. I am, we are, completely adrift and bereft without our anchor, Michael Mullins.”

Prosecution counsel Phil Barnes KC told the court Richardson had previous convictions for 28 offences, with a “significant history” of driving-related crimes.

The crimes included careless driving and failure to stop or report an accident in 2011, driving with excess alcohol and driving whilst disqualified in 2012 and driving whilst disqualified and uninsured in 2013.

In 2023, he was convicted of driving without a licence and insurance.