Man jailed after killing a grandfather on a pedestrian crossing in Cleveleys

A man has been jailed after killing a grandfather on a pedestrian crossing in Cleveleys.

On Monday 28th October 2024, 82-year-old Lee Towers was holidaying in Thornton Cleveleys with his family. It was a half term trip they took every year, ever since his grandchildren were small. That year was the first without his wife.

 On Monday 28th October, a then 20-year-old Joseph Dawson was riding his Honda CBR 500, carrying a pillion passenger, which he was not insured to do. Dawson was also driving at unacceptable speeds through the area, over twice the legal limit in places.

Lee had just been out for dinner with his family. He left the restaurant and began to cross Victoria Road West at the pedestrian crossing. When he was three-quarters of the way across, he was struck by Dawson’s vehicle.

Dawson had just performed a high speed overtake before the crossing.

Lee was thrown into the air, suffering serious injuries. He later died in hospital as a result of those injuries on 6th November 2024.

Dawson went on to lose control of the bike and collide with two stationary vehicles. He also suffered a leg injury and was taken to hospital.

Enquiries following the collision determined that Dawson was accelerating to between 48 and 55mph in the moments just before the collision, as he approached the crossing.

Dawson was later interviewed by police.

He earlier pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court Sessions House, where he reappeared and was sentenced to seven years and six months imprisonment and disqualified from driving for 10 years when he will have to take an extended retest.

In a Victim Personal Statement to the court, his son said: “I remember a conversation I had with my dad when I was still a boy. We were discussing the meaning of life and my dad said that he wanted to make a difference and so be remembered after he was gone. Sat listening in a packed marquee as amateur and professional footballers recalled the impact "Doc" Towers had on them, I knew he had succeeded, he had made a difference. Dad had been on over 100 tours with the teams, spanning 56 years and was about to do another tour but instead, he was killed.”

Lee’s daughter-in-law’s Victim Personal Statement read: “Lee was just beginning to get his life back together after losing his wife, Jean, to cancer in September 2023. It had been a difficult year for all of us. Our time in Cleveleys was an annual holiday we’ve been taking during October half-term for twenty years, ever since our children were tiny. This was the first time without Jean.

“After that night, I kept thinking of all the things I wished we had done differently. If there hadn’t been a funeral wake at the hotel, we’d have eaten there. I think I called out to Lee just before he stepped into the road. Did I distract him? Would he have waited if I hadn’t called? Why didn’t I grab him before he stepped out?”

She ended the statement with: “I cannot return to Cleveleys after what happened, so a family tradition of going to the same hotel every year for two decades died the day the elder generation of our close-knit family was wiped out.”

DS Helen Parkinson, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “No sentence will bring Lee back to his family or erase the horrendous memories they have of his final moments. I do hope however that they can begin to move forward knowing the rider has been brought to justice.

“Dawson knew the speed limits, he knew that he wasn’t supposed to be carrying a pillion passenger and he knew that he shouldn’t have been riding the way he did. Despite this, he still chose to ride dangerously, and that decision cost Lee his life.

“I want this to be a clear lesson to anyone who thinks they can drive this way – it’s not just a bit of fun, it’s dangerous and it kills. You could take someone’s life, and ruin your own in an instant. It is not worth that just for the short thrill of driving fast.”