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A speeding motorist who drove into the back of a lorry before leaving his passenger to die at the scene has been jailed for over nine years.
Connor Money sped into the HGV while attempting to undertake a different vehicle on the M2 in Rainham in October 2019 and ran from the scene to try and evade capture.
The 23-year-old, of Essex Road, Dartford, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday 20 May 2020. He was sentenced to nine years and will serve an additional 10 months for an unrelated Metropolitan Police case.
At around 1.30pm on Tuesday 8 October, two Kent Police officers travelling in an unmarked patrol vehicle became suspicious of Money’s driving while he was travelling on the coastbound M2.
The constables overtook his vehicle and displayed a message on their rear window which instructed him to follow them. Money appeared to be following their instructions but, when the officers left junction 2 to find a safe location to stop, he chose to suddenly disobey the request and sped down the motorway.
The officers were committed to the exit, making it unsafe for them to change direction, and within a five-minute window numerous people called Kent Police to report concerns about Money’s manner of driving. A dashboard camera fitted to a lorry also captured him travelling at speeds believed to be in the region of 140 mph.
As Money passed junction 4, driving at around 130 mph, he attempted to undertake a lorry that had moved from lane one to lane two to make way for another HGV that was joining from the slip road.
Money failed to see the joining vehicle and collided with the back of it.
Instead of staying at the scene to check on the wellbeing of his front seat passenger, Money chose to run into some nearby woodland. The passenger, a 23-year-old man from Dartford, died at the scene.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police, who had been on a training exercise in Kent, came across the collision shortly after it happened and provided first aid to the victim at the scene. They also went on to find Money in South Bush Lane, where he was arrested.
Kent Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit investigated the case and charged Money with causing death by dangerous driving while he was still in custody. He has been held on remand since.
Upon being released from prison, Money will be the subject of a 10 year driving ban.
Sergeant Chris Wade, Kent Police’s lead investigating officer for the case, said: ‘Money’s decision to ignore two police officers and instead drive away at grossly excessive speeds, endangering countless other motorists, is beyond comprehension. This is without doubt the worst driving I have encountered in 25 years of policing.
‘A young man, with his whole life ahead of him, died as a consequence of Money’s reckless decision and instead of staying at the scene his first thought was to run away and evade capture.
‘His behaviour was disgraceful and his poor nature is further demonstrated by the six months he spent denying his offending before pleading guilty just before he was due to stand trial in March.
‘I know this case has affected a great many people and, while Money’s imprisonment does not undo the harm caused, I sincerely hope they can find a degree of closure in this sentencing.’
