A HIGH-SPEED driver killed his partner when his BMW hurtled up a slip road and plunged through roundabout railings and a stone wall onto a pedestrian walkway below.

The car, which Peter Clarke had only owned for a week, landed on the passenger side severely injuring 30-year-old Natalia Kulik, his partner of 18 months.

Ms Kulik was cut from the wreckage but went into cardiac arrest and died shortly afterwards.

Manchester Crown Court heard that the passenger side airbag had been disconnected but that 34-year-old Clarke was not aware of this and it is not known whether it could have helped to save Ms Kulik in the crash on October 27, 2019, had it been working.

Why Clarke, of Lord Street, Kearsley, was travelling at between 73 to 83mph on the slip road of the A6 approaching Pendleton Island, is not known.

Robert Dudley, prosecuting, told how, in July 2018 Clarke had been advised not to drive by a consultant due to the risk of having an epileptic fit, but there is no suggestion that a seizure contributed to his driving that day.

Jailing Clarke for three years and four months, Judge Suzanne Goddard told him: “There is no explanation for the speed you were travelling that day and what motivated you to drive at such a high speed in what was, to me, very obviously dangerous circumstances.

The judge acknowledged that Clarke and Ms Kulik, who was mum to an 11-year-old son, had been in a “happy and loving relationship” and that her grieving family do not support him being prosecuted.

But she added: “Nevertheless, it is a fact that Natalia Kulik lost her life and her son lost his mother because of your actions that day and your dangerous driving and for that you must be punished.”

Clarke, who is father to a young daughter by a previous relationship, had pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

The court heard how Clarke, with Miss Kulik in the front passenger seat was driving a BMW 320 to Manchester at 12.40pm to go Christmas shopping. The car, which was in a roadworthy condition, had been bought a week earlier at auction by his father.

Dashcam footage from another car on the A6 at Salford was played which showed the BMW hurtling past at high speed before veering to the nearside and off onto the slip road at Pendleton Island.

“It was going really fast and I knew it was not going to stop,” a bus driver who witnessed the crash told police.

Mr Dudley stated that the car appeared to be under control and did not brake but clipped a nearside kerb on the slip road before speeding onto the roundabout, through the metal barrier and wall in the middle to the roundabout and down onto the path below. Fortunately, no pedestrians were there.

“The car landed on the passenger side with the defendant dangling from his seat belt,” said Mr Dudley.

Ms Kulik was alive when the fire service cut off the vehicle’s roof to get to her but she died at Salford Royal Hospital a short time later from massive injuries, including multiple fractures and a torn aorta, which caused internal bleeding.

Clarke was also badly injured, including suffering a fractured spine, spent more than two weeks in hospital and many more months recuperating.

Nicola Gatto, defending, said that Clarke, who is of previous good character and has a clean driving licence, cannot remember anything of the collision.

She stressed that he had not been drinking or taking drugs and had not been involved in an argument or road rage.

“It was, in effect, no more and no less than excessive speed,” she said.

The court heard that Clarke has handed in his licence, has not driven since and is having counselling for depression and grief at the loss of his Ms Kulik “She was his partner and his grief is immeasurable. It is clear that he feels significant guilt and significant remorse and this is something that is likely to remain with him for the many years to come,” said Miss Gatto.

She added that prison will be difficult for Clarke.

“This is an ordinary man who has led a law-abiding life,” Miss Gatto told Judge Goddard.

“Whatever sentence Your Honour imposes on him, he is going to find this a very, very difficult environment indeed because he is not like the majority of individuals who are in Her Majesty’s prison service.

“This is a tragedy for all concerned.

“No matter what sentence Your Honour imposes, it isn’t going to bring Miss Kulik back. There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by when he doesn’t think of her and when he doesn’t regret his actions on that day.”

As well as a prison sentence Clarke was banned from applying for a driving licence for five years and eight months after which he will have to take an extended retest.