Ty Kelsall: Unlicensed driver left woman trapped & injured after serious Rotherham crash using rented car

Ty Kelsall caused the collision when he illegally sped across a crossroads and through a junction, off Festival Road in Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham - ignoring a give way sign and the rules of the road - without making any attempt to slow down or brake.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how, instead of attempting to check on the welfare of the woman he left with broken bones, in the moments following the collision Kelsall was observed picking up £20 notes from the floor of the vehicle he had been driving.

Kelsall then walked away from the scene, following in the footsteps of the three males he was carrying in the Vauxhall Corsa, all of whom fled immediately after impact.

“Such was the force of the impact with her car at that crossroads, it was projected towards a junction box and into a hedge,” The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, told Kelsall, who was aged 20 at the time of the collision.

Judge Richardson continued: “She could not get out, she was terrified the car might explode because of the smell of petrol.”

In stark contrast to the actions of Kelsall, now aged 22, kind-hearted members of the public came to the woman’s assistance, a hearing held on June 10, 2025, was told.

Despite having multiple fractures to her pelvis, spine and leg, she was eventually able to crawl over from the badly damaged driver’s side of the vehicle and over to the passenger door to free herself.

“You, instead, got out of the car, after a while you started to rifle through things in the car, and after approximately a minute you walked off without making any enquiries to the welfare of the woman or anybody else,” Judge Richardson said.

In addition to the multiple fractures sustained in the collision, the woman - who is in her 50s - said the crash left her “petrified,” and she has subsequently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She also has continuing pain to her hip and back, which makes day-to-day tasks such as housework or walking her dog difficult.

The woman, through a statement read to the court, detailed how the psychological trauma of the collision has impacted on her independence, because she feels apprehensive about driving or leaving the house. In addition the woman said she has difficulty sleeping, which affects her professional life, because she keeps making mistakes.

She revealed how she cannot stop thinking about “the lack of care the driver had for anybody on the road.”

The woman’s Vauxhall vehicle had to be written off following the crash, at a cost of around £26,000, the court heard.

Prosecutor Stephanie Hollis said Kelsall had recruited a friend to hire the car he was driving at the time of the crash, in “exchange for a payment”, before telling her he would be taking the car for a number of days.

Ms Hollis said Kelsall, previously of Hargrave Place, Thrybergh, Rotherham, phoned his friend and admitted he had crashed the car, but told her she should report it as having been stolen from her driveway to police, which she did.

Judge Richardson said of the woman’s conduct: “She is fortunate she is not charged with an offence as well.”

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In the wake of the crash on May 29, 2023, Kelsall, along with two of the males he had been travelling with, made his way to a convenience store two streets away on Cemetery Road, where he asked to charge his phone.

Ms Hollis said a shop worker noticed Kelsall was covered in blood, and CCTV taken from the shop subsequently assisted police in their efforts to identify him.

Kelsall was not arrested until almost two months later on July 20, 2023, however, when he was found to be in possession of 26 wraps of crack cocaine.

Judge Richardson told the court that due to errors made by police and Crown Prosecution Service, Kelsall was charged as having a total of 14 wraps - 12 fewer than he actually had - in his possession, and would be sentenced on that basis.

Kelsall pleaded guilty to charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and possessing Class A drugs at an earlier hearing.

Judge Richardson remarked that he believed Kelsall and his associates were likely to have been “up to no good” on the afternoon of the crash, as “revealed” by how quick all four were to leave the scene. He emphasised, however, that he had no evidence of that and would only sentence Kelsall for the offences he had admitted to.

Ms Hollis said Kelsall was on a four-month suspended sentence passed in 2022, for offences of possessing cannabis and a bladed article, at the time of the collision.

He was also convicted of a dwelling-house burglary, and an offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 2020, when he was a juvenile, and was sentenced to a youth referral order.

Defending, Chris Aspinall said Kelsall suffered injuries in the collision, leaving him dazed, and with a poor recollection of the events that followed.

He told Judge Richardson that Kelsall is believed to have been subjected to child criminal exploitation as a juvenile, as evidenced by probation records referred to in his pre-sentence report. In addition to Kelsall’s young age, Mr Aspinall also asked Judge Richardson to take the delay there had been in the case reaching court into consideration.

“Mr Kelsall experienced a difficult childhood,” continued Mr Aspinall.

He told the court that at the time of the collision, Kelsall had just experienced his first break-up, which became “acrimonious” and resulted in him being refused access to his child.

Mr Aspinall said Kelsall has a new partner, who was present in court to support him, with whom he shares a one-year-old child.

“He has somewhat turned his life around,” said Mr Aspinall, adding that Kelsall now has the possibility of employment.

Jailing Kelsall for three years, Judge Richardson told him: “You drove appallingly. I’ve seen the CCTV of the serious collision you caused.

“You made efforts to conceal and camouflage your identity in order to evade justice.”

Judge Richardson also banned Kelsall from driving for three years, with an 18-month extension to reflect the amount of time he is likely to serve behind bars.