Steven Parker was a hugely popular young man in Wigton, loved by his family and part of a large and close-knit group of friends. The crash on the Wigton bypass almost two years that claimed the 23-year-old's life has left a left a legacy of grief - and troubling questions about a culture of speed among some young drivers. As one of his former friends was this week jailed for dangerous driving on the day of the crash, the tragedy prompted his grief-stricken parents to urge other young motorists to reject the temptation to drive fast. PHIL COLEMAN reports.

The human cost

TEARS welled in Judith Charter’s eyes when she recalled her son's last words as he lay dying in the wreck of his crashed BMW.

“It wasn’t my fault,” said 23-year-old Steven Parker.

It was just after 5pm on February 3, 2018, and a desperate phone call had summoned Mrs Charters to a stretch of the A596 Wigton bypass, where she was confronted by every parents’ worst nightmare.

Steven’s car – his pride and joy – had spun out of control, leaving the road and crashing into a line of trees. His brother Maverick Charters managed to escape from the mangled car but Mr Parker – trapped inside – was fatally injured.

His former friend Liam Dixon, 27, was yesterday jailed after he admitted driving dangerously on the bypass that day. But a jury cleared him of causing the fatal accident that claimed Mr Parker’s life.

After Dixon was led away to start his sentence, Mrs Charters and Steven’s birth father Stephen spoke of the horror of the last two years – and of their hope that other young motorists would learn from the tragedy.

During Dixon’s trial, the prosecution revealed that he and Mr Parker shared an interest in fast and powerful cars. On the day of the crash, a video was circulated on social media - mobile phone footage that showed Mr Parker’s BMW travelling that day at 140mph.

The prosecution said the two men and their friends took part in “high-speed” duels on Cumbria’s roads – though the jury refused to accept Dixon’s driving caused the crash.

As she spoke, Mrs Charters, 46, clung to the Paddington bear toy which had been Steven’s since his babyhood.

“Steven was a bubbly person, full of fun,” she said. “He’d do anything for anyone. He’d move out with girlfriends, but he’d always come back; and he was so loved in our community. Everybody said what a kind lad he was.”

Recalling the day her son died, she said she and her husband Mike – Steven’s stepdad – arrived at the accident scene even before the emergency services.

They helped Maverick and one of Steven’s friends, who was badly injured, escape from the car. Steven was still conscious, she said. “I lifted the airbag on the side of the door and I was talking to him,” she said.

“He was saying it wasn’t his fault. I’ll never get that out of my head.”

Steven also swore about Dixon. It was the last thing Mrs Charters heard him say before he lost consciousness, she said. Some of the things Dixon said to the police after the crash still haunt Steven’s parents.

He sought to deflect blame for the tragedy on to Mr Parker, claiming falsely that he had fitted his new BMW with cheap tyres. The prosecution said that was a fiction. Mrs Charters said her son had owned the car for only two days.

It cost £25,000 – and there was no way he’d put £12.50 tyres on it, she said.

Both Mrs Charters and Mr Parker’s birth father Stephen feel bitter towards Liam Dixon – and bitter that he will not serve longer in jail for his bad driving. “It’s disgusting,” said Mrs Charters.

Though Steven loved cars, and was an advanced driver, his parents are acutely aware of the dangers of speed. They hope their son’s death will make other drivers think twice before speeding.

“I want them to stop doing what they’re doing on the bypass,” said Mrs Charters. “I want them to think of their parents; and to see what we’re going through. I know that my son is not coming home and now I don’t know how I’m going to live. It destroys a whole lot of people.”

Steven’s birth father Stephen Parker, 59, from Bothel, learned of his son’s death in a brief and brutal phone call.

He said: “I had a call saying ‘He’s dead.’”

A second call as he went to the scene repeated the message. “You just don’t believe it,” he said.“It’s always going to be there. Every night I go to bed and it’s on my mind; and when you wake up in the morning, it’s the first thing you think of it.

"You don't expect to lose one of your children.”

As for the court case, Mr Parker said that Dixon should have been given a longer ban -because tougher sentences may deter others from driving too fast. He added that in the months since the acciden the police had done a "fantastic" job. 

The court case

ONE of the most shocking revelations to emerge from Liam Dixon's prosecution was his driving history.

Three days into his Carlisle Crown Court trial, the 27-year-old admitted that his driving on the bypass in 2018 had been dangerous, but he insisted it had not caused the death of his former friend Steven Parker. With their not guilty verdict, the jury accepted that claim.

After the verdict, prosecuting barrister Stuart Neale outlined for the first time in open court that Dixon had previously been prosecuted for dangerous driving. Yet he clearly failed the learn any lesson from that experience, four years before the fatal crash on the A596.

Mr Parker died on February 3, 2018, after losing control of his BMW.

Despite the road’s 50mph speed limit, his car and the modified Vauxhall Corsa driven by Dixon reached average speed of 118mph as they sped along he bypass, said a police expert. They drove in convoy, with Dixon's car in front until moments before the crash.

Witnesses said there was very little distance between the two cars as they travelled westbound along the bypass.

It was only after he heard the expert police evidence about the speed of the two cars that Dixon admitted dangerous driving.

Prosecutor Stuart Neale said Mr Parker and the defendant had once been friends - part of a group of young men interested in fast and powerful cars. “They had a circle of friends with similar interests in fast cars,” he said.

“It was part of their leisure time to take their cars on to the roads of Cumbria and engage in high-speed duels.”

On the day of the tragedy, said Mr Neale, Mr Parker and Dixon took part in a final fatal duel, which ended tragically as Mr Parker’s BMW pirouetted in front of Dixon’s Corsa as it span out of control and off the road.

The prosecution highlighted how Dixon’s Corsa had been massively modified, its 1.2 litre engine replaced by a powerful 2 litre Saab engine.

Dixon refused to accept he was in a chase, or caused the tragedy – a claim ultimately accepted by the jury. He also denied touching his brakes in the moment before Mr Parker’s car spun off the road.

Mr Neale revealed how in April of 2014 Dixon committed a dangerous driving offence on the B5302. An off-duty police officer saw him speed past, twice crossing solid white lines as he raced towards the blind crest of a hill past a line of traffic.

“The defendant swerved back on to the correct side of the road, narrowly avoiding a collision with one of the vehicles he was overtaking,” said Mr Neale.

Though he initially denied being the driver, he later admitted the offence and was given a 12 month ban.

Dixon’s defence barrister Kim Whittlestone said his bad driving on February 3, 2018, when Mr Parker died, was not prolonged. “What happened on the A596 was over a relatively short distance,” she said.

There was no alcohol or drugs involved. Nor was there evidence of aggressive driving. Recorder Michael Duck QC told Dixon he had clearly not learned the lesson from his earlier dangerous driving conviction.

The judge said the bad driving was prolonged, and added: “There can be no clearer demonstration of the dangers of driving in this manner than the appalling consequences for Steven Parker.”

For the dangerous driving offence Dixon, of Throstle Avenue, Greenacres, Wigton, was jailed for 16 months. He was also banned from the road for two years and eight months.

The police reaction

A POLICE officer who worked on the crash investigation said the tragedy is a painful illustration of the dangers of driving too fast.

As well as causing the death of Steven Parker, the accident on the Wigton bypass left many others with lifelong consequences, psychological and physical: Mr Parker's passengers - his brother Maverick Charters and his friend Lee Jefferson - survived the crash.

But Mr Charters was left with post traumatic stress; and Mr Jefferson with a brain injury and fractures to his jaw and eye socket.  

After Dixon was led away to start his jail term, Sergeant Claire Sampson said: “This was a tragic incident which resulted in the death a young man who had his whole life ahead of him.

"The collision will significantly affect a great deal of people for many years and provoke a stark reminder about other young people we have lost unnecessarily on our roads over many years.

“The speed limit for this stretch of road is 50mph and it is clear both drivers were travelling, at the very least, twice that. Deaths like Steven's are avoidable, if as drivers we could take that moment to consider the what if.

“I can only hope that this incident serves as a warning to other young drivers in our county. The risks of driving in a dangerous manner, however brief, even if you see it as simply having fun or think it’s a laugh, with no intention to hurt each other, can lead to disastrous consequences that will last a lifetime."

She went on to thank the families of those affected by the tragedy.

She added: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the families who have endured a distressing time at court and waited for some time to hear the full circumstances of how this collision came to occur. And also the investigation team who have worked diligently to bring the facts of the case in front of a jury.”