Man who left girlfriend dying in the street as he tried to flee in TAXI cries in court as he's jailed

A dad wept as he was locked up for causing his girlfriend's death in a horror crash.

Kevin Marsh, 43, had been drinking gin and taking cocaine before he crashed his car into a bin lorry, resulting in the death of his partner Michelle Atherton, 47. He tried to pin the blame on her, claiming she grabbed the steering wheel just before the collision, the Liverpool Echo reports.

But a jury found him guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court. Marsh, a dad-of-three appeared emotional as he was sentenced to 16 years in prison by Judge David Aubrey KC.

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He will have to serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before he can be released on licence. He has also been banned from driving for 18 years.

Arthur Gibson told the jury during the prosecution's opening last week that the refuse vehicle involved in the smash left the depot on Parr Street in St Helens at around 6.45am on July 5 last year to commence a round in the Newton-le-Willows area. This route took its crew eastbound along Broad Oak Road, a 30mph road where the "surface was damp, if not wet, from earlier rainfall".

As the truck approached the bend near to the junction with Delta Road, its driver noticed a white Ford Fiesta which was travelling in the opposite direction at an estimated speed of between 52mph and 54mph. This car then "suddenly steered to the right" and veered into the wagon's path, colliding "head-on" despite an "immediate correction back towards the left".

Footage of the fatal crash captured by the lorry's dashcam was shown to jurors. One member of Ms Atherton's family sat in the public gallery with his hands on his head