VIDEO: A boy racer has been jailed after he admitted killing a promising young footballer at a car meet in Warrington.
Mason Hodgson appeared at Liverpool Crown Court where he was sentenced to eight in prison.
The 23-year-old of Glen Road, Morley, had earlier pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
Jailed – Mason Hodgson
As well as his custodial sentence, he was also disqualified from driving for 10 years and four months and must pass an extended driving test before getting behind the wheel again after this period.
The court heard how on the evening of Sunday 10 April 2022, a car meet was taking place on an industrial estate in Woolston, Warrington.
Several hundred people were in attendance at the event, including 20-year-old Samuel Harding from Stockport, who had visited with his two friends to look at other cars.
Hodgson also attended the car meet with his friends and shortly after 9.30pm he decided to participate in the car meet by attempting to drive as fast as possible along Kingsland Grange in his black Audi S3.
As he drove along the road, a 30mph zone, Hodgson reached speeds of more than 90mph, before colliding with Samuel who was in the process of crossing the road.
CCTV footage showed that due to the speed he was travelling, Samuel could not see Hodgson’s vehicle, when he stepped out into the road. Hodgson was unable to brake in time after seeing Samuel in the road.
The impact of the collision caused Samuel to be thrown more than 10ft into the air and as a result he sustained serious head injuries.
Police and paramedics were called to the scene and Samuel was rushed to hospital. Sadly, despite the best efforts of all those involved, Samuel sadly passed away a short time later.
Promising footballer Sam Harding
Hodgson was arrested at the scene in connection with the collision and an investigation was launched by the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, with support from the Major Investigation Team.
During their enquiries, officers contacted over 100 witnesses, took statements from 95 people and viewed hundreds of hours of CCTV and mobile phone footage, which showed the lead-up to the collision.
An expert in CCTV analyst reviewed the footage and was able to prove that Hodgson had reached speeds of between 83 and 97mph while driving along Kingsland Grange. In the moments before the collision, he was travelling at between 82 and 88mph, and even after applying the brakes, he was still travelling between 58 and 60mph.
Footage was also recovered from Hodgson’s mobile phone which showed him regularly travelling at excessive speed and taking part in competitive driving on public roads.
After a detailed investigation, Hodgson was subsequently charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Clips from the CCTV footage were played to the court including the moment of impact. The judge said that traces of THC, the active component in cannabis, was found in Sam’s blood “which may have affected his crossing behaviour and poor decision making process.”
But he added that it was a minimal contributory factor and he did not believe it affected the outcome.
The victim’s mum read her statement out and told the court, crowded with about 30 friends and relatives, how he was so popular that 500 people attended his funeral.
She described the emotional impact on the family as “truly horrendous” and described the family’s “feeling of helplessness as suffocating.”
She said that Sam had played football at Wembley and represented his country for England School Boys. “He became a coach and mentor for hundreds of children in this local area.”
His mum, who broke down in tears at one point, said that he “lived and breathed football” and had been due to sign for Warrington FC four days later.
“One reckless act has left our family with a life sentence of pain.”
She continued, “Unauthorised car meets have to stop.”
Martyn Walsh, defending, said that Hodgson had always admitted responsibility. He is sorry for what happened and has described his deep regret.”
He is now estranged from the partner of his daughter and if he got the Audi back it would lie sold and the money used for his child. There were positive references from family members and his employer.
Following his sentencing Sergeant Simon Degg, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit at Cheshire Police, said: “Samuel was a bright and talented young man who had his whole life ahead of him. He travelled to Warrington that night simply to look at other cars with his friends and have fun.
“Hodgson travelled to Warrington that night to show off and drive his car as quickly as possible. He showed little skill in driving fast down a straight road. In fact, he demonstrated the opposite.
“The footage we recovered from his phone showed that he had no regard for the law and regularly took part in street races, even filming himself as he drove at speeds in excess of 160mph on UK roads.
“In the moments prior to the collision, he reached horrific speeds of more than 90mph, in an area governed by a 30mph speed limit, and even after he had spotted Samuel in the road, he had no way of stopping due to the excessive speed at which he was travelling.
“As a result of his selfish, unnecessary, and dangerous actions, Samuel never got to return home that night and the lives of his family have been torn apart.
“While we will never be able to bring Samuel back, I hope that the sentence handed to Hodgson will provide his family some closure and allow them to start to rebuild their lives.
“I also hope that the devastating consequences of this case will act as a warning to others who are contemplating on taking part in these events.”
