Man jailed for 13 years over death of woman in police pursuit crash

A man who fled police before crashing into a car and killing a 47-year-old woman has been jailed for more than 13 years.

Michael Connors, 28, of Landen Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, was sentenced at Mold Crown Court on Monday after admitting causing the death of Lydia La Polla by dangerous driving.

He was also sentenced for causing serious injury by dangerous driving to Ms La Polla’s husband and a 16-year-old girl.

Connors was jailed for 13 years and one month.

The court heard that on March 24, 2025, Connors was driving a silver Mercedes when he made off from police and collided with a Toyota between Belgrave Road and Percy Road in Hightown, Wrexham.

Ms La Polla, from Wrexham, was driving the Toyota and suffered injuries from which she died at a hospital in Stoke two days later.

Her husband, who was a passenger in the car, was seriously injured.

Connors and another man fled the scene following the collision, leaving two young passengers behind in the Mercedes.

One of them, a 16-year-old girl, was also seriously injured.

Connors was arrested by Gardaí in Dublin on March 11 this year and extradited to the UK on June 16. He subsequently admitted all three charges.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms La Polla’s husband said her death had left him with a “profound sense of loss”.

He said: “My life will never be the same again. To say I am heartbroken is an understatement.

“Lydia was a wonderful mother to our children and they absolutely adored her. It breaks my heart to know that their mother won’t be there for their weddings, and she won’t be there to see them grow up and have children of their own.

“Our close family unit has been shattered into a thousand pieces, and it will never be the same again without Lydia.”

‘Sadness’

Ms La Polla’s daughter said losing her mother was a “pain that words cannot describe”.

She said: “This collision did not just take my mum from me; it took away the future I always imagined with her in it. It changed my family forever.

“I have lost the person who loved me unconditionally, who guided me through life, and who was always there whenever I needed her. No amount of time will ever heal that loss.

“The sadness never truly goes away; I have simply had to learn how to carry it.”

Chief Superintendent Jaqueline Downes said: “Our deepest sympathies remain with Lydia’s family, who continue to live with the devastating consequences of this incident.

“No one should ever leave their home and not return safely.

“Lydia’s family conducted themselves with the utmost dignity throughout this complex and protracted case, and I am grateful to them for their trust in our investigation.

“I would also like to thank the members of the public who came to assist those at the scene of the collision before the emergency services arrived.

“In addition to the prison sentence Connors will now serve, he must live with the knowledge that his actions resulted in Lydia’s death and has caused unimaginable pain to her family, as well as serious injury to two more people.

“This case demonstrates the very real dangers associated with driving dangerously and we hope this sentence serves as a warning to others about the potentially devastating consequences of such behaviour.”

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