Killer CrossFit trainer who repeatedly drove over man lying in the road and dismissed him as a 'smackhead' as he lay dying under the car is jailed for six years

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:19, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 16:21, 24 June 2026 A killer CrossFit trainer who repeatedly drove over a man lying in the road and dismissed him as a 'smackhead' as he lay dying under her car has been jailed for six years. Megan Murphy, 26, drove off 'blind' with her windscreen 'completely covered with thick ice' and steered her car the wrong way down a one-way street when she drove over Darryl Tomlinson, 31. Amateur footballer Mr Tomlinson had collapsed in the middle of the road in Marsh Green, Wigan, after a night drinking with friends in the early hours of January 9 last year. He lay there for more than two hours in the freezing cold before Murphy drove over him three times - hitting him first, then reversing and driving over him again. Immediately after, she lied to the police, telling them 'I didn't see him', after she had just admitted to a friend that she had just 'reversed over him'. A court heard she called Mr Tomlinson a 'smackhead' while he lay dying under her car. Earlier, neighbours had tried to help Mr Tomlinson, who lived just 500 yards away, and had called 999 after spotting him slumped in the road at 5.05am - nearly two hours after he had first collapsed. But 'in an awful twist of fate', neither the police nor the paramedics 'could find the patient and never attended the scene' because of a problem with their address recording system. CrossFit trainer Megan Murphy, 26, ran over Darryl Tomlinson, 31, three times while driving the wrong way down a one way street with her windscreen 'completely covered with thick ice' Amateur footballer Mr Tomlinson had been out drinking with friends and collapsed in the middle of the road on the short walk back to his home Murphy, now of Lord Street, Ince, was today jailed for six years after earlier pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. Jailing her, the Recorder of Bolton, Judge Nicholas Clarke KC told her: 'CCTV footage records you for three seconds attempting to defrost your windscreen. 'This was hopelessly inadequate. The other windows remained opaque and the windscreen was still completely covered with thick ice. You were driving blind. 'That is in and of itself - dangerous. You deliberately chose to drive when you could not see properly. You deliberately drove the wrong way down a one-way street.' Representing Murphy, John Dove, said she had a previous good character and a clean driving record at the time. 'Quite frankly she is devastated to find herself in this situation, particularly in such life-changing circumstances. To say she is a broken woman is an understatement,' he said. He said Murphy was driving slowly, and stopped initially in front of Mr Tomlinson as she thought that something had either fallen from the building site next to the road or that she had potentially hit a kerb. 'At this point, in a state of panic, she continued to drive her vehicle forward. In a state of panic, there were two further manoeuvres. When she initially opened the door, she looked down and she noticed fur beneath her. 'She thought she had come into contact with an animal before she discovered she had come into contact with Mr Tomlinson. She accepts that all of those actions were wrong.' He added: 'She also made a comment about the demeanour of Mr Tomlinson. Miss Murphy regrets making that comment and she wishes to apologise for that comment made whilst in a highly stressed state.' Mr Dove described her as a 'hard working and industrious individual', explaining that she had worked in the army as a chef - within the Royal Artillery based in North Yorkshire - for six years after leaving school. Upon sign off, she had since chased a career as a CrossFit athlete and a personal trainer. Murphy lived on Kitt Green Road in Marsh Green at the time of the incident, just around the corner from where Mr Tomlinson was killed, prosecutor Rob Hall told the court yesterday. Mr Tomlinson was almost saved after neighbours called 999 to alert them of him lying in the road, but paramedics and police could not find him as they both had incorrectly recorded the address given in their systems Mr Tomlinson lay collapsed in the road for more than two hours after leaving his friend's flat at around 3.19am. He called his friends for help twice while lying there in the freezing cold until he was run over three times and killed by Murphy at 5.48am She had a 'habit' of reversing out of an access lane before driving the wrong way down one-way Pembroke Road and turning onto Kitt Green Road, he said. 'It would seem she ignored the rules of the road to save herself time by avoiding driving around the housing estate,' Mr Hall said. On the night of his death, Mr Tomlinson had been out with his friends watching football and drinking. He left with one of his friends to go to another person's flat on Kitt Green Road and then ordered a taxi to a petrol station to buy more booze. They returned to the Kitt Green Road flat, around 500 metres from Mr Tomlinson's own home on Comet Road, and continued drinking. But around 3am, he decided to leave. The court heard there was a Met Office yellow warning for snow and ice in force from 3am on January 9. Mr Tomlinson was said to have been drunk and having been 'likely to have taken cocaine and cannabis' left his friend's flat. 'Mr Tomlinson was able to use the toilet and walk down the stairs unaided, so his friends thought nothing of his ability to get himself from the flat to his home, a walk of 500 metres,' Mr Hall said. He was seen on CCTV stumbling before he fell outside a house on Pembroke Road at around 3.19am. He was 'relatively central' in the road. He was wearing a black jacket with a fluffy hood and black trousers. Mr Tomlinson made two calls to friends, leaving one a voicemail asking for help. His friend described him as 'very drunk, slurring his words' and said he 'did not know where he was'. Mr Tomlinson had asked his friend to call him a taxi, but he couldn't as he didn't know where he was. At around 4.40am, a neighbour went outside to de-ice his car. He saw Mr Tomlinson, who was 'incoherent' and 'unresponsive'. His partner called for an ambulance at 5.05am. 'In an awful twist of fate, the North West Ambulance Service had notified Greater Manchester Police, and neither of the two agencies could find the patient and never attended the scene,' Mr Hall said. A separate investigation into the actions of the emergency services is ongoing. Mr Hall said: 'It would appear the provided address wasn't properly recorded and so the address provided to both agencies was incorrect. They attended at the wrong address and couldn't find the right address.' Nearly 40 minutes later at 5.44am, Murphy came out of her house. She was seen attempting to clear her windscreen for a matter of seconds at 5.44am. Murphy had a 'habit' of driving down the one-way street the wrong way when she lived nearby and 'ignored the rules of the road to save herself time' Defending, John Dove told the court: 'Quite frankly she is devastated to find herself in this situation, particularly in such life-changing circumstances. To say she is a broken woman is an understatement' 'It was woefully inadequate,' Mr Hall added. 'When she reversed, she had practically no outward visibility from the driver's seat.' At 5.48am, she drove onto Pembroke Road, her Citroen DS3 headlights illuminating Mr Tomlinson in the road. She was then caught on CCTV driving forward, stopping momentarily in front of Mr Tomlinson before driving over him. She then reversed over his body, before driving over him again. People were 'waving their arms and shouting' and the taxi driver nearby was sounding his horn. As they called 999, Murphy was recorded in the background saying: 'I didn't see him'. 'Sadly, Megan Murphy decided to deliberately lie to avoid responsibility for what she had done,' Mr Hall added. 'In the 999 call that followed, she said she was leaving to drive the correct way on Pembroke Road. 'Three minutes after the collision, she walked away to make a phone call to a friend in which she claimed she had reversed over him - which was clearly not correct - and called him a smackhead.' A friend encouraged her to make sure she had defrosted her windscreen properly or she would 'get f***ed' as he was 'already on the floor in the way and because he is a crackhead'. Murphy was then seen attempting to properly defrost her windscreen. A forensic officer said visibility was still poor despite her attempts. Mr Tomlinson was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem report found he had multiple bruises and abrasions to his body. His cause of death was chest injuries and acute alcohol toxicity. Judge Clarke said the alcohol was not a cause of Mr Tomlinson's death but hastened his condition. Detective Constable Carl Boydell from GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: 'This was a truly tragic and entirely avoidable incident that has resulted in the devastating loss of a life. Our thoughts remain firmly with Darryl's family and loved ones as they continue to come to terms with what has happened. 'This outcome reflects just how seriously the courts treat dangerous driving. Motorists have a responsibility to always follow the rules of the road and to ensure their vehicle is safe before setting off. 'Even in cold weather, taking the time to properly clear windows and ensure full visibility is essential. If you cannot see clearly, you cannot drive safely.' No comments have so far been submitted. 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