A ‘show-off’ Ferrari driver who left a newborn baby with brain damage and needing 24/7 care after slamming into a car at 130mph has been jailed.
Daniel Halliwell, 35, was driving like a ‘rocket’ while taking his mate ‘out for a spin’ in his new Ferrari 812 GTS.
But he lost control while hurtling down the Daresbury Expressway in Greater Manchester ‘ridiculously fast’ on July 21, 2023, around 5pm.
He tragically crashed into a Ford Fiesta containing a mother and her three-week-old baby after another motor moved over to let her join the carriageway.
The car was in full working order and the baby was securely fastened in his car seat, Chester Crown Court was told.
The woman was merging onto the carriageway from a slip road when a BMW driver, described as ‘faultless’, moved over to allow her space.
Halliwell, who had traces of cocaine and ecstasy in his system, was approaching in his Ferrari at ‘extreme speed’ and made an ‘extensive manoeuvre’ to avoid the BMW – but crashed into the mother and child.
The baby suffered bleeding to all parts of his brain and doctors were doubtful he would survive.
He was stabilised and put into an induced coma – but will have life-changing and irreversible injuries.
His mother said in a statement: ‘My son will not have the life that most of us envisage for our children.’
The family will have to move into a home suitable for the child’s needs, and she will eventually have to get a car that will be wheelchair accessible and will be able to carry specialist equipment.
It was heard how the extent of the baby’s injuries are only becoming more apparent as he is getting older.
Halliwell appeared in Chester Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing.
A witness said the collision sounded like an explosion. It was caught on the dashcam of a HGV which was travelling behind.
Footage was shown to the court of the aftermath of the crash. Tyre marks could be seen across the carriageway, as could both cars which were heavily damaged, as well as debris, a tyre from the Ferrari, and an exhaust.
The court heard how it was ‘astonishing’ that nobody died.
Halliwell, of Earlestown, St Helens, had no previous convictions but six penalty points on his licence prior to the smash – including three for driving at 60mph on a 40mph stretch of the same road.
The judge said: ‘You decided to show off to your friend. When you went past that lorry driving at 55mph, it was like a rocket.
‘You gave no thought and just sped on in a selfish and arrogant way, giving no thought to anyone but yourself and the thrill-seeking that you wanted to get by showing off the speed of that vehicle.
‘It is astonishing, absolutely astonishing that nobody died, but that will be of no comfort whatsoever to that mother.
‘The pride and joy that she would have felt for that little boy would have been huge, taking him out, strapped into his car seat in a proper way and driving perfectly properly and suddenly all of her hopes and cherished dreams for the future were cruelly extinguished because of you being on that road.
Halliwell received a jail sentence of 32 months.
He has also been disqualified from driving for five years, with an extension period of 18 months.