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Heartbreaking tribute paid to Doris Bridgehouse, gran killed by Audi driver doing 118mph on 30mph road

The driver has been sentenced to seven years for dangerous driving

Daisy Jackson - 15th November 2023

A heartbreaking tribute has been paid to Doris Bridgehouse, who was killed by a car travelling 88mph over the legal speed limit.

The 82-year-old grandmother died in a fatal collision after her Kia Venga was hit head-on by an Audi S3 travelling at speeds up to 118mph.

The accident occurred on Friday 13 May 2022 at around 10.55 on Halifax Road in Rochdale. The road has a 30mph speed limit.

On Tuesday 14 November 2023 the Audi driver, 24-year-old Trent Jason Simm, was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison and disqualified from driving for five years after his release.

As well as being charged for Causing Death by Dangerous Driving for the death of Doris Bridgehouse, Simm was also found guilty of Causing Serious Injury by Dangerous Driving to two passengers in Doris’s vehicle, one being Doris’s daughter Amanda.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Doris had been out visiting her grandson’s university showcase and was driving home with them.

On the night of the fatal accident, Simm had been driving at excessive speed when he lost control on a nearside bend, crossing onto the opposing carriage way, where he collided with Doris’s car.

Emergency services provided first aid to the three occupants of the Kia, but tragically Doris was pronounced dead at the scene. The passengers of both vehicles were taken to hospital with series injuries.

When police officers initially spoke to Simm, he claimed ‘the pedals got stuck, and I’ve come round the corner on the wrong side of the road’.

At court, Doris’s daughter Amanda read a statement to the court and defendant, highlighting the severe injuries for her and emotional trauma for the rest of her family.

She detailed her grief, memory loss, and the physical and emotional toll of the accident, and said she hopes Simm will ‘bear the weight of the consequences for the rest of his life’.

Doris Bridgehouse was a beloved nurse and cherished family member who was described as a ‘vibrant and kind’ individual.

Addressing Simm, Amanda said: “It has changed my family and I forever, given my son Max the most dreadful, shocking, and incomprehensible memories and had a catastrophic impact on both my son’s lives.

“You have robbed me and my sons of ‘goodbye’ to Mum and Nan and me of the being the Mum that I want to be to my sons right now. This is very difficult, and you are going to have to live with your actions for the rest of your life.

“As much as you have destroyed the dynamics of our family, I think that you have also destroyed a part of your own and your family’s. I do not feel sorry for you at all; driving at those speeds you are liable to kill someone, and you did.

“So, actions have consequences and here we are. Rest In Peace, Mum.”

Sergeant Louise Warhurst from GMP’S Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “What had started out as a special celebratory occasion for Doris and her family ended in tragedy when through no fault of her own, she encountered Trent Simm driving his Audi S3 at manifestly dangerous speeds.

“Trent Simm was treating the public highway as his personal racetrack, reaching astonishing speeds of 118mph in a 30mph residential area. He had no regard whatsoever for the safety of all other members of the public using the roads in Rochdale that evening.

“I would like to thank all the members of the public that tried to assist Doris and her family at the scene of this collision and everyone that came forward to assist the police with their investigation. I would like to thank the family, friends and loved ones of Doris, who have conducted themselves with dignity throughout this investigation.

“I would also like to remind those who think they can ignore the speed limit to think twice before using their car at high speeds. Your actions can devastate innocent members of the public in a split second and no one deserves to lose a loved one this way.Dangerous drivers will not be tolerated in our communities.

“Greater Manchester Police will deal with them robustly to keep people safe from illegal and irresponsible drivers.”

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Featured image: GMP