Driver jailed after killing 'devoted' mum while fleeing police
Lydia La Polla's life was "needlessly cut short, not far from her 25th wedding anniversary", the judge said.
Driver jailed after killing 'devoted' mum while fleeing police
A dangerous driver has been jailed for 13 years after causing the death of a "devoted" mum while he fled police.
Michael Connors went on the run to Ireland after killing Lydia La Polla, 47, in Wrexham in March 2025. He was extradited on an international arrest warrant.
Connors, 28, had been driving at 71mph in a 20mph zone seconds before the crash, which also seriously injured the victim's husband Robert La Polla, 44, and a 16-year-old girl who was a passenger in the car driven by the defendant.
Judge Simon Mills told Mold Crown Court that Lydia's "excellent life was needlessly cut short at the age of 47, not far from her 25th wedding anniversary".
Connors did not have insurance or a driving licence when he killed Lydia La Polla
Mills said Connors, who was driving a silver Mercedes, fled the scene in a "cowardly fashion".
"If the defendant has any sense of decency at all, he will carry the weight of what he did until the end of his days," he said.
Mills said Connors should not have been driving the vehicle, as he did not have insurance or a driving licence.
He added: "We don't know whether you were under the influence of cannabis or not. I don't assume you were although four wraps of it were found in the vehicle."
Connors, who was on licence from jail at the time of the crash, had driven across two junctions in two "highly dangerous" manoeuvres.
Mills added that it was "simply by chance" that "more people were not killed" as a result of his "dangerous" and "completely selfish actions".
Prosecutor David Mainstone said on 24 March 2025, a police officer spotted the Mercedes and decided to follow it.
Lydia La Polla had been driving a Toyota Yaris when the Mercedes ploughed into the passenger side, causing it to become airborne, roll over and hit a wall.
The Mercedes was still travelling at 63mph at the time of the crash and three passengers were inside. Connors' DNA was found on an airbag and his fingerprint on a can of Red Bull.
In a victim impact statement read out to the court, Robert La Polla said the death of his wife had left him with a "profound sense of loss".
"My life will never be the same again," he wrote. "To say I am heartbroken is an understatement.
"Lydia was a wonderful mother to our children and they absolutely adored her. It breaks my heart to know that their mother won't be there for their weddings, and she won't be there to see them grow up and have children of their own.
"Our close family unit has been shattered into a thousand pieces, and it will never be the same again without Lydia."
Connors, of Landen Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, admitted causing death by dangerous driving. He also pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
As well as his prison sentence, he received an eight-year driving ban with an extended retest - to run after his release from prison.
Mainstone said Connors had a record for 64 offences, including nine dangerous driving allegations in Ireland. He had nine offences for being uninsured and, in 2021, in Britain, had been sentenced to six years for conspiracy to burgle.
Jane Miller, defending, said: "The defendant appears genuine in his remorse. He's had time to reflect upon his conduct."