Whitefield: Driver jailed after killing man on Bury New Road

Usher Donson, 27, crashed his BMW on Bury New Road, Whitefield on Thursday November 4 2021, killing 31-year-old Aaron Jarvis who had been travelling on the backseat and seriously injuring another passenger.

Bolton Crown Court heard how he had been driving at “excessive speed” in a car carrying five people.

Henry Blackshaw, prosecuting, said: “It was this, in combination with how heavily weighted the car was, which increased the risk.”

Mr Blackshaw reminded the court how during the course of Donson’s trial the jury had heard from an eyewitness describing him as “driving like a fool.”

Aaron Jarvis, 31, was killed in the crash (Image: GMP)

After the crash, instead of helping the three men he could see were seriously injured Donson instead wiped the steering wheel in an effort to thwart potential forensic investigations and ran off.

He then returned to the crashed car to retrieve his mobile phone before running off again.

Police and paramedics were called and Mr Jarvis was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Another man suffered serious injuries and may never be able to walk properly again, while another was also badly hurt in the crash.

Donson, of Dallow Road, Luton, then tried to “lay low in the South of England”, according to Mr Blackshaw while the investigation took place.

But he was eventually arrested after coordinated action between Greater Manchester Police and officers from the Bedfordshire force.

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Despite pleading not guilty, Donson was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving at a trial which concluded at Bolton Crown Court earlier in June.

The jury also convicted him of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

A series of emotive victim impact statements read out to the court by Mr Blackshaw laid bare the devastation the 27-year-old had wrought, describing the hole Mr Jarvis’s death had left in the lives of his family members.

The court heard how he had been “the life and soul of the party” and a “happy-go-lucky boy.”

Paul Treble, defending, said he had no intention of “minimising” Donson’s actions but reminded the court that he had not intended to harm anyone, rather “the intention was to go to Bury.”

Usher Donson (Image: GMP)

Though he admitted the defendant’s actions were “disgraceful” he insisted there was another side he man who Mr Treble claimed was a “family man”, with two families in London and Manchester, and who was involved in music promotion.

He said: “He is working on a book of a spiritual nature looking at the inhumanity of man to man, though there may be some irony there.”

But Recorder Alexandra Simmonds reminded the court of the consequences of Donson’s actions, which left one man dead and another two injured and his behaviour afterwards.

Addressing the defendant, she said: “You however, instead of trying to assist took the time to wipe the steering wheel, presumably in an attempt to remove forensic evidence and ran off leaving them for dead.”

She said that Donson had shown no remorse and that his behaviour since the crash had been “cold and calculated.”

Recorder Simmonds jailed Donson for a total of seven and a half years and banned him from the roads for 10 years, with extra time added to take account of his time in prison.

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After the case concluded, Sergeant Andrew Page, of GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, praised of the work of the officers involved.

He said: “Today’s sentencing is the result of a lengthy investigation.

“Extensive work was conducted by the police to locate Donson after he left the scene of the collision.

“It appears he was actively evading capture since the collision occurred before his arrest in August 2022.

“Donson made it extremely difficult for us to locate him by moving back and forth between areas of southern England.

“It took a coordinated effort from the Officer in the Case, Greater Manchester’s Force Critical Wanted Unit and Bedfordshire Police in order to locate Donson, where he was subsequently arrested at a flat in Luton on Monday August 22 2022 by colleagues at Bedfordshire Police.

“I would like to thank all parties who were involved in this operation, their tenacity in getting justice for the victims of this case has led to today’s result.”