Coward fled and left his pal, 17, with fatal injuries after smashing into taxi in high-speed police chase

A man caused a horror smash after leading police on a high-speed chase then fled - leaving his 17-year-old passenger with fatal injuries. Elliot Martin, 21, led cops on a pursuit while driving a Ford Focus in the early hours of March 31 last year.

Two passengers - including Ronaldo Johnson, 17 - were with Martin. Officers in a marked police car saw him skip a red light.

They followed Martin along Wilmslow Road in Withington, south Manchester, onto Copson Street after he took a sharp left. The Focus was driven the wrong way around a roundabout onto Yew Tree Road, where the chase began.

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Martin reached speeds of over 65mph in 30mph zones, Manchester Crown Court heard. Prosecuting, Chloe Fordham said Martin didn't slow down, speeding through a red before smashing into a taxi.

The court was shown police dashcam footage of the chase, which lasted 40 seconds until the crash. Martin 'panicked' and ran away, leaving his two passengers unconscious in the car.

Both suffered serious brain injuries and fractures and were rushed to Salford Royal Hospital. Tragically, on April 6, Ronaldo died of his injuries. The other passenger, a young man, was left with life-changing injuries.

Less than 24 hours on from the crash - at around 11.40pm the day Ronaldo died - Martin handed himself in at Longsight police station and admitted what he had done.

Ms Fordham told the court: " After the crash, he said he just got out and started running out of sheer panic. He said that he had no idea at the time how serious the injuries were to the others in the car.

"He said that he went home and got changed and that later in the day his friend called round to