Woman disabled by crash racers

TWO men have been convicted of causing a crash that left one woman permanently disabled and seriously injured two others.

Lee Unwin (37) of Oriel Close, Chadderton was convicted of dangerous driving yesterday after a four day trial.

Joel Wharmby (24) of Victoria Street, Littleborough had earlier pleaded guilty to the same offence.

Unwin was riding a Suzuki motorbike and Wharmby driving a Noble M12 GTO as they sped down Manchester Road through Shaw on Saturday, September 29.

Victim Samantha Butterworth, who was then 33, was in a car driving through Rochdale on her way back from a shopping trip with her friends.

She was in the back of her friend’s Renault Clio and they were waiting on Manchester Road to turn right on to New Barn Lane.

Wharmby and Unwin were driving in the opposite direction at speeds of over 60mph.

As the Clio turned right — which would have been safe had oncoming traffic not been speeding — Wharmby’s car hit it with such force that witnesses said it sounded like an explosion.

Samantha and the other two women who were in the back of the Clio, then both aged 25, were all thrown from the car with the force of the collision. All three women were critically injured.

The two 25-year-olds remained in hospital for seven weeks after the collision, being treated for serious head injuries.

However, Samantha remains in hospital and will never fully recover from her injuries.

The driver of the Clio and the front seat passenger were less seriously injured in the crash.

Wharmby was also injured but Unwin stopped a short distance down the road and avoided the collision.

Ruined

But instead of calling an ambulance he got out his phone and called his father and then left the scene without offering to help any of the injured people.

Sgt Simeon Holt, from the traffic unit at Chadderton, said: “The stupid actions of these two men have ruined not just Samantha’s chances of living a normal life, but have greatly affected her family’s happiness too.

“Clearly, Wharmby and Unwin could not have been less bothered about the safety of other road users”

A date for sentencing was being be set at court today.