Callum Rycroft was hit by a car as he attempted to run across the motorway with his dad
A father has been jailed for manslaughter after his 12-year-old autistic son was killed trying to cross the M62 as they fled the scene of a crash.Rycroft, 37, was driving drunk when he crashed into a barrier and overturned his Audi Q5 on the M62 slip road to Hartshead Moor services, near Huddersfield, on August 5 this year, Leeds Crown Court heard.
On Monday, November 6, Rycroft, of Nowell View, Leeds, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after previously pleading guilty to manslaughter, driving dangerously and failing to provide a specimen. Rycroft, who appeared via a video link from prison, could be seen sobbing and wiping his eyes as he sat with his head bowed throughout the hearing.
Callum’s mother Claire Bancroft, who has since split up with Rycroft over their son’s death, said Callum “would follow everywhere” and “worshipped the ground he walked on”. The Crown Prosecution Service said Callum had no speed awareness due to his disability. Prosecutor Michael Smith told the court that Rycroft had visited his parents in Huddersfield with Callum and had cut the grass at Paddock Cricket Club before starting to drink and socialise in the clubhouse, buying lager, spirits and shots. CCTV footage from the club shows Rycroft being “demonstrably unsteady on his feet” as he left the club at around 9.10pm.
She added: “I saw a bright future for Callum, I just know he would have achieved anything, and I am certain he would have got a good job, he would have been so good with anything practical. What makes matters worse, if that could be possible, is that my children have lost their dad as well as their brother and they know Callum is not here because of their dad. Matt has torn the family apart, he has hurt a lot of people, but mostly he has let Callum down, all because of his selfishness.
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