Dashcam shows moment teen drove the wrong way on the M606 killing three as he's sentenced to 6 years

Jack Simpson was 15-years-old at the time of the crash

A teenager has been sentenced to six years - three in custody, and three on licence - for causing the deaths of three people after driving the wrong way down the M606.

16-year-old Jack Simpson from Bradford was just 15 at the time. The crash happened when the Ford Transit van driven by Simpson was in a head-on collision with a taxi, while travelling along the southbound carriageway at around 10.45pm.

The driver of the taxi Sohail Ali, 28, of Bradford, and his passenger Simon McHugh, 48, of Huddersfield died.

Sohail Ali and Simon McHugh were in a taxi that was hit by a van on the M606. Credit: West Yorkshire Police

Kyden Leadbeater, 18, from Bradford, who was a passenger in the van, also died.

West Yorkshire Police have released dashcam footage showing the moments leading up to the crash as Simpson drove the van the wrong way down the M606.

On sentencing Simpson, Judge Richard Mansell QC told him: "Don’t mix with the idiots and hooligans and treat this as a life lesson. Come out a different and better man to the boy who went inside.”

He added: "Nothing that I can do by way of sentencing you today can possibly compensatethe families and friends of these three men who tragically lost their lives as a result of your senseless driving of that van.

"The sentence should not be taken as putting a value on their lives. Life is priceless.

"You were seriously injured in the crash but have recovered largely from your injuries.

"You will carry with you for the rest of your life the responsibility for killing these three young men and bringing untold grief and pain to their families."

He earlier ruled that there was a “strong public interest” in naming the teenager, as a deterrent to others.

Emergency services were called to the M606 at around 10.45pm.

After the sentencing, Simon McHugh's mother Gillian McHugh paid tribute to her son. She said: "It'll always be there, I'll never get over it. He was a friend as well as my youngest son."

She added that in a way she also felt sorry for Simpson. "I hope that with this sentence when he comes out in three years time on licence that he will have changed his life around."


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