Driver jailed for killing pensioner in Cambridgeshire crash is caught by his own dashcam footage

  • Watch the dashcam footage driver Martin Young tried to fake


A driver who killed an elderly man in a crash and then tried to hide the fact he had been speeding has been jailed - after his own dashcam footage gave him away.

Martin Young, 68, crashed into a car being driven by 84-year-old William Hall in Cambridgeshire in December 2019.

Mr Hall died in May 2020 after being kept in hospital with a neck fracture and contracting Covid-19.

An investigation found Young, from Rutherford Place in Haverhill, had been driving at nearly 90mph and collided with the front of Mr Hall’s VW Polo, which was turning right across the A1307 at the Dean Road junction.

Both cars spun before coming to rest in the road and Young, Mr Hall and a passenger in the Polo suffered serious injuries.

Initially, it was thought Mr Hall was at fault for the collision, but Young provided a witness statement and said he had dashcam footage.

Young then sent a mobile phone recording of the footage and but no speed analysis could be carried out due to it being a recording of a recording.

When police finally got an original copy, they found the footage first provided had been altered to obscure the speed.

It showed Young was travelling at 86 to 88mph, yet earlier in a telephone statement to police, he described the speed he was driving at as between 60 and 65mph.

On Tuesday, was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice. 

He was also disqualified from driving for five years and 10 months and ordered to take an extended re-test, as well as pay costs of £2,116, plus a victim surcharge.

Det Con Rochelle Eves, who investigated, said: “Young was travelling at excess speed on the A1307, a road he knew to be notorious for fatal collisions.  

"His attempt to avoid responsibility ultimately failed and it shows that if you lie to the police you will be found out.

"I want to thank the family of Mr Hall for their dignity and patience while we have investigated this sad and complex case.”

In a statement, Mr Hall’s family said: “Bill was a kind, loving and gentle man but also strong and determined.

"He was a proud husband, dad, grandad, great grandad and father-in-law who loved spending time with his family around him. He was always interested and keen to hear what we were all doing.”

The statement added his death had left a “massive hole” in all of their lives.