Driver who killed beloved young man walks free from court

Glyn Davies, 59, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced for a charge of death by careless driving’, to which he pleaded guilty last month.

Graham Pickavance, prosecuting, told the court how, shortly before midnight on September 18 of 2021, Davies hit and killed Liam Walsh.

Liam was a talented young rugby player, who played professionally for Widnes Vikings for two years between 2017 and 2019.

Liam played for Widnes Vikings professionally having come through their academy (Image: Widnes Vikings)

The 23-year-old had been on a night out with his partner, Kelcigh Burgess, as well as two others, having gone for drinks at multiple bars.

Mr Pickavance told the court how, after multiple attempts to flag down a taxi, one member of the group held out his arm over the A5080 in Widnes to try again.

This would be the road Liam would die on.

Following this failed attempt to flag down a taxi, Mr Pickavance told the court that the young rugby player told his friend ‘This is how you do it’, ran into the road, and began shouting and waving his arms to flag down a taxi or ask a car for a lift.

Davies, of Deepdale, Widnes, drove his red Vauxhall Corsa off a round-a-bout 150 yards from this, on the Cronton Road stretch of the A5080.

The stretch of road where the incident took place (Image: Google Maps)

A member of the group on the night out with Liam reported that they heard no attempt to break by Davies, and he only attempted to swerve at the last minute.

The road was well-lit, with no issues of visibility.

The young man from Widnes was struck by Davies’ car, causing injuries that would later lead to his death at Whiston Hospital.

Roughly 20 members of the Walsh family were in court for the sentencing, and victim impact statements were read out by both Liam’s mother, and his partner.

Kelcigh, his partner, told the court how the pair had been together for eight years at the time of his death, from when they met in school in 2013.

She said: “He smiled at me in the corridor, he was 14 and I was 13. Later he asked me to be his girlfriend, we were stuck together like glue.

“We would be on the phone from first thing in the morning until last thing at night.”

She described how he had moved in with her and her family two years before his death, and that he had been welcome as a part of her family.

His partner told a story of how he was the designated ‘spider-catcher’ of the house but would make sure to chase people around the house with the spider before disposing of it.

She said, ‘it’s little things like this we miss about him’.

“We were destined to stay together, we were soulmates.”

Liam and his partner were together for 8 years before his death (Image: Supplied)

Liam’s mother, through tears, told the court his death was ‘nothing short of devastating for us.’

“I lost my only son; I feel numb and angry every day. We grieve the future we lost for him.

“A beautiful life has been taken. I would swap places with my beautiful boy.

“Me and Liam’s family have been given a life sentence, we are here today to get justice for him.”

Defending Davies, Simon Christie told the court that the defendant had no previous convictions and had been travelling at the speed limit at the time of the incident. He had not been drinking or taken drugs.

Early on in his defence, Judge Menary KC, presiding over the case, interrupted Mr Christie to point out there had been ‘many different accounts by the defendant’, as to whether he saw Liam and thought he would move, or whether he did not see him till the last moment as he claimed initially after the incident.

He said there was ‘an element of arrogance’ he believed in Davies’ accounts, and pointed to the fact he was initially described as being angry in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

Mr Christie said that the defendant's ‘own trauma makes expressing emotions hard for him’. Members of Liam’s family shook their head throughout the defence.

Mr Christie went on to describe the incident as ‘a short period of bad driving’.

Glyn Davies avoided jail time for the incident (Image: Face)

Judge Menary, in summarising the case, said: “On any view, this case is tragic. He had his life ahead of him.

“You should have seen him a considerable distance away, you had a range of choices to make.

“You say in one statement you did not see Liam until he was right in front of you. The other explanation is that you saw him and expected him to move out your way and did not move or swerve until it was too late.

“The proper course for you to take would be to slow down. Either way your driving was careless and dangerous.

“There is no sentence that I can pass today that will begin to make up for the family’s loss.”

Davies was given a sentence of 16 months, reduced to 10 months for his early guilty plea, suspended for two years.

This sentence was met by displeasure and murmurs from the family, as well as calls of ‘this is bullsh*t’.

Liam’s sister burst in to tears and was one of multiple family members to walk out after the sentence was finished on hearing Davies would not be serving an immediate custodial sentence.

Liam's mother said I would swap places with my beautiful boy (Image: Widnes Vikings)

The family’s anger did not end there, with one member chasing after Davies once he left the courtroom, before yelling ‘you are a disgrace’, and ‘you should be ashamed of yourself.’

The defendant will also serve 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, will be on an electronically monitored curfew for four months, and was disqualified from driving for five years.

Liam’s family released the following statement:

"What happened that day was totally avoidable, but due to the actions of one man, Liam has been taken from us forever. No sentence will ever make up for our loss and nothing will bring him back.

“Liam was a considerate and caring young man who touched the hearts and enriched the lives of everyone who knew him.

“He was dedicated to his partner and any spare time Liam had was spent with his family and friends as this is what was important to him.

“He was a kind, gentle soul with the biggest heart, he lit up any room he walked into and he was a true gentleman. It was a pleasure and an honour to have him in our lives for his 23 years and we will now and forever be proud of him.

“His passing left a gaping hole in our family that will never be filled, he will never be forgotten, and words cannot describe how much he is missed.”