'Boy racer' reached almost 100mph before throwing footballer 10ft high in horror crash
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A "boy racer" who attempted to "drive as fast as possible" and hit speeds of almost 100mph before smashing into a budding young footballer has been jailed for eight years. Mason Hodgson, 23, drove his black Audi S3 to an unauthorised car meet in Warrington, Cheshire, on April 10 2022, when he struck 20-year-old former England Schoolboys player Samuel Harding as he stepped into the road. Samuel, who was thrown 10ft into the air, died a short time later despite emergency services racing to the scene to try and save him, Manchester Evening News reports.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how the car meet was taking place on an industrial estate in Woolston, Warrington. Several hundred people attended, including Samuel, who visited with two pals to look at other cars. Hodgson then decided to 'drive as fast as possible' along Kingsland Grange in his black Audi, the court was told.
He reached speeds so high that when Samuel appeared in the road, he was unable to brake in time. Horrifying CCTV footage analysed by police captured him hitting speeds of 97mph in a 30mph zone before the fatal collision. The impact caused Samuel to be thrown 10 feet into the air and sustain serious head injuries, which he did not survive.
Hodgson was arrested at the scene, and when officers went through his phone, they discovered videos of him regularly travelling at excessive speed and taking part in competitive driving on public roads. Cops also contacted more than 100 witnesses, took statements from 95 people and viewed hundreds of hours of CCTV and mobile phone footage showing the lead-up to the collision.
