Kallum Flowers: Selfish driver paralysed man & gravely injured woman in two separate horror crashes in 17 days

These are the words of a man who was left paralysed by the dangerous driving of a callous Sheffield criminal - who went on to seriously injure another person in a separate crash while he was on the run for the first one.

Driving a flat-bed truck, Kallum Flowers crashed into the young man’s vehicle with such force it was flung 60 metres down the road and into a wall, ripping the drivers’ side door off and causing a brick to fall on his head.

Flowers, while on licence from a prison sentence for a serious robbery, caused the collision after accelerating through a red light, and into a junction on Packman Road, Rotherham, a Sheffield Crown Court hearing held on June 27, 2025 heard.

In the moments beforehand, his then-partner and co-accused, Hannah Costello, was travelling “in convoy” with him in her Vauxhall vehicle.

The young man was left with a catalogue of catastrophic injuries, which have rendered him paralysed and unable to speak more than two years on from the horror crash on June 11, 2023.

They include a spinal fracture and a condyle fracture “where the spine and skull meet,” bleeding to several areas of the brain, a tear to his spleen and a pulmonary contusion, which is trauma and bleeding to his lungs, said prosecutor Paige Yellott.

“They left my brother to suffer without any regard for him”

In a statement submitted to the court, which he typed with one finger onto an iPad, the man revealed how he had gone from being someone with a job and his own apartment who had a burgeoning romantic relationship and a BMX hobby he loved to someone who has lost all of their independence and needs assistance in order to carry out basic tasks.

“As a result of my injuries I will be classed as disabled for the rest of my life,” said the man, now aged 27.

He added: “I’m unable to speak. I’m told this may come back in the future. I’m unable to walk without help, and I’m unable to move my right arm fully.”

“This collision has ruined my life, my life was so good before.”

The court heard how he spent a number of months in a coma in a critical condition, and even after coming out of it, had to remain in a hospital setting for months, which he “hated”. The man is now living in a bungalow, and requires 24 hour care, the court heard.

Ms Yellott told the court that Costello, aged 30, was travelling a short distance behind Flowers, after the pair got into an argument via text message earlier that evening.

After causing the crash, Flowers subsequently got into Costello’s vehicle, and the pair returned to the scene in the car a matter about two to three minutes later - this time with Flowers driving - before once again running a red light and fleeing the scene for the second time.

In an emotional statement she read out to the court, the sister of the man hit by Flowers said she struggled with the fact Flowers left her brother so badly injured at the roadside, and was assisted by Costello to flee so quickly.

She continued: “They left my brother to suffer without any regard for him, and that’s something that will always stay with us.”

“I’m unable to understand the lack of care for him, and the lack of remorse…they were more concerned with themselves.”

“My brother did nothing wrong that day, and has had to pay a very high price.”

She said the lives of their entire family had been forever changed by the collision.

Police visited the defendants’ family home, where they lived with their two children, a short time after the crash, by which time Flowers had fled to go on the run.

Second person left seriously injured after Flowers causes another crash

Flowers caused the second crash on June 26, 2023, just over a fortnight after the first one.

Ms Yellott said the crash took place during a police pursuit, which was mounted after an officer patrolling in South Kirkby, West Yorkshire became concerned that the tinted windows of the Audi vehicle he was driving were not legal.

As he attempted to shake off the officer following behind in a marked police car with sirens blaring, Flowers sped through residential streets with cars parked on both sides of the road in the middle of the road and refusing to move or brake for oncoming traffic.

Flowers was travelling at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour (mph) on roads with limits of 30 or 50mph, the court heard.

While travelling at speeds of between 80mph and 85mph, Flowers then crashed into a stationary car located outside a convenience store on Stockingate containing a driver in her 60s, Ms Yellott said.

She continued: “It hit the vehicle with such force it spun twice before coming to a stop…debris was thrown into the road towards a woman on the other side of the road who was walking with her child in a pram. A car battery flew off, but thankfully didn’t hit the woman or her child.”

Flowers subsequently ran from the scene, and after an initial chase from the officer pursuing, he was able to make good his escape when the officer returned to the scene to check on the other driver.

The second driver injured by Flowers also sustained multiple injuries, including six rib fractures, three fractures to her pelvis and a fracture to her right arm.

The court heard how Flowers’ second victim has also been robbed of her independence, as a consequence of her injuries.

In her statement to the court, the woman said she has missed out on precious family time with her grandson, is no longer able to take her grandchildren away during the summer holidays, and continues to be reliant on others for tasks including showering.

“It’s extremely degrading, embarrassing and unfair that I’m in this situation,” she said.

Ms Yellott said Flowers remained on the run for over four months after the second crash, before finally being arrested on November 2, 2023 at an address on Rolleston Road in Sheffield, where he was found “hiding in the attic.”

“Callous disregard for human life”

Jailing Flowers for six years, six months, the judge, Recorder Mark Cooper, said Flowers has a “callous disregard for human life.”

He continued: “Your driving on two separate occasions was nothing less than appalling. I’ve absolutely no doubt that both of these crashes could have resulted in fatalities and you are fortunate you are not facing more serious charges in this court today.

Recorder Cooper said Flowers’ decision to run off after the first crash, knowing the seriousness of the other driver’s injuries, showed he was “only thinking of yourself.”

“That first accident should have taught you a lesson, but it clearly didn’t because you were involved in that second serious accident only 17 days later.

“Your actions demonstrate you are an entirely selfish individual, who has no regard for the lives of others, going about their daily business.”

Flowers was also brought before the court to be sentenced for two assaults on police officers carried out on April 29, 2022, amid a disturbance outside the Forty Foot pub in the Parson Cross area of the city.

Ms Yellott said the two officers were responding to the disturbance, which involved around 14 males, and after repeatedly coming up to the drivers’ side of a police vehicle, punched a female officer to the face before punching her to the bicep, and then striking her colleague when he attempted to intervene.

Flowers, of HMP Doncaster, was subsequently charged with, and pleaded guilty to, two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, failing to stop after an accident and driving without insurance.

Ms Yellott told the court that Flowers has a record consisting of 24 offences from 10 convictions, including a 2013 conviction for robbery, for which he received a nine-year prison sentence, with a five year extended licence.

Flowers’ licence from the robbery matter does not expire until 2027, and he was recalled to prison following his arrest.

Costello, of Masefield Road, Rotherham, was subsequently charged with, and pleaded guilty to, offences of dangerous driving and assisting an offender at an earlier hearing.

“I’m haunted by my behaviour”

Representing Flowers, Andrea Parnham read a letter submitted to the court from the defendant in which he said: “Let me say I’m sorry for the trouble, heartache and pain I’ve caused.”

“I’m haunted by my behaviour,”

She told Recorder Cooper, that Flowers’ letter is an attempt to “explain the difficulties he has had in his personal life,” adding that he does not seek to “excuse” his offending behaviour.

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Ms Parnham told the court that after being released from his robbery prison sentence in 2019 Flowers had stayed out of trouble until he committed these offences.

She suggested that in those intervening years, Flowers worked to rebuild his life, gaining employment on the railways and settling down with his partner and starting a family, but began to struggle after he was beset by a number of personal problems.

“He lost his grandfather who he was close to, his friend committed suicide. His mother was diagnosed with cirrhosis and was quite poorly,” Ms Farnham said.

She told the court that Flowers has used his time behind bars wisely, and has completed courses in a number of areas including health and safety and mental health.

Austin Newman, mitigating for Costello, referred Recorder Cooper to the “clutch of testimonials” submitted on her behalf.

He asked Recorder Cooper to take the delay in the case into consideration, some of which could be attributed to the fact that she was not arrested or charged in connection with the first crash until “many months later.”

Recorder Cooper referred to a report prepared on Costello's behalf, which detailed the health complaints of both her and her children, as well as the fact that she herself had been in a road traffic collision after committing the offences.

He said he accepted she had displayed genuine remorse.

Recorder Cooper sentenced Costello to 18 months custody, suspended for two years.

He said he reached the decision to suspend her sentence after taking into consideration the fact her young children have no other family to look after them, the likelihood their accommodation would be lost should she go to prison, her lack of previous convictions and the assessment she poses a low risk of reoffending.

As part of her sentence, Costello was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, along with a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Flowers was handed a driving ban of five years, with an extension of three years, three months to reflect the amount of time he is likely to serve in prison.

Costello was also handed a 12-month driving ban.