The lives of everyone touched by these fatal crashes have been forever - and in most cases, irrevocably changed by the heinous actions of these dangerous drivers.
In the first four months of 2025 alone, crashes on South Yorkshire’s roads have resulted in 14 deaths, prompting police to warn that “extra vigilance can be the difference between life and death.”
Roads Policing Inspector Matt Collings says South Yorkshire Police is “working hard to create safer roads and put those who risk innocent people’s lives before the courts but need everyone’s help.”
All of the killer drivers pictured here showed a flagrant disregard for the rules of the road, and crucially, the safety of others; and have been convicted of the serious offence of causing death by dangerous driving.
The maximum sentence for the offence now carries a life sentence, following a change in the law in 2023. Prior to the change, the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving was one of 14 years.
The longest sentence handed down to the killer drivers pictured here was given to Paul Yates, who, in 2024, was jailed for 12 years for causing the deaths of father and son Dean Jones, 44, and Lewis Daines, 16, who were out cycling together, before continuing to drive and injuring a woman and her children.
Each of these criminals received a prison sentence of more than four years, meaning their convictions will never be spent - or expunged - from their criminal records.
They also received lengthy driving bans, and will be required to take an extended driving test should they ever wish to legally drive after the ban has expired.
5. Scott Cooney: Jailed for eight years, three months
Scott Cooney, aged 48 at the time he was jailed, has been locked up for over eight years after admitting causing death by dangerous driving. He was behind the wheel of a black Land Rover that was involved in a collision with a Piaggio scooter on Mortimer Road on Wednesday June 2, 2021. The scooter rider, 58-year-old Mark Jenkins, suffered catastrophic injuries but was left for dead when Cooney failed to stop and drove away from the scene. Mr Jenkins was taken to hospital where he remained critically ill until his death on June 8, 2021. Cooney, formerly of Manchester Road, Stocksbridge, appeared before Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, September 30, 2022 where he was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison and was disqualified from driving for 11 years. | SYP
6. Paul Yates: Jailed for 12 years
A man has been jailed at Sheffield Crown Court for causing the deaths of a father and son cycling together. Killer driver Paul Yates, aged 36 at the time he was jailed, had got behind the wheel of his car while uninsured and only holding a provisional driving licence. He caused the deaths of Dean Jones, 44, and Lewis Daines, 16, who were out cycling together, before continuing to drive and injuring a woman and her children. Yates, of Manor Road, Barnsley, got into his Volkswagen Golf on Friday, January 20, 2023, after spending the evening socialising in Barnsley. Around 9pm, Yates was driving along Royston Road in Barnsley. He attempted to overtake a vehicle on a single carriageway, but during the manouvre he lost control of the car and left the carriageway, travelling at speed towards father and son, Dean Jones, 44, and Lewis Daines, 16, who were out cycling together. Following the collision, Yates got out of his car, walked over to Dean and Lewis, who lay critically injured on the ground, before getting back in his car and fleeing the scene. Witnesses stayed with Dean and Lewis and called for help. CCTV footage shows Yates’ car extremely damaged and him continuing to drive it, with the bonnet flying up and blocking his view out of his windscreen. A short time later, Yates was involved in another collision with a Volkswagen Tiguan. He collided into the back of the car at speed, leaving children inside frightened and shocked as he drove off again and started his attempts to evade the police. A wanted appeal was published for Yates and after 11 days on the run, he was arrested. Yates, who pleaded guilty to causing deaths by dangerous driving and a separate count of dangerous driving, appeared before Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, May 20, 2024 . He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, reduced from 18 years due to his early guilty plea. He was also disqualified from driving for 13 years. | SYP
7. Molly Mycroft: Jailed for nine years
During a Sheffield Crown Court hearing held on February 23, 2024, prosecutor, Kitty Colley, described how not only was Molly Mycroft driving exceptionally fast at the time of the collision, but she had also been undertaking other vehicles and travelling at speeds of at least 70mph for just over a mile beforehand, as she made her way up on Wheatley Hall Road in Doncaster, which is subject to a 40mph limit. Jailing 21-year-old Molly Mycroft (pictured) for nine years, The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, told her: “Your driving was comprehensively deplorable." The court heard how at the time of the crash at around 9.20pm on August 2, 2022, Sarah Oliver was being taken to work at Polypipe on Neale Road in the city by her colleague, Pedro Ribeiro, and the pair were a matter of seconds away from the business. Ms Colley said Pedro, driving a BMW vehicle, had been waiting for just under a minute at a set of traffic lights, and after they turned green, he made a lawful right-turn on to Wheatley Hall Road; and without warning, the passenger-side of his vehicle was struck by Mycroft’s red Seat Ibiza car. The lights on Wheatley Hall Road, near to the junction of Neale Road, had been red for around six seconds when Mycroft drove through them at a speed of between 78 and 83 mph. Sarah is believed to have been killed instantly, while Mycroft's two victims - the first complainant and Pedro - both suffered significant injuries, and continued to receive treatment for them - over 18 months later. Mycroft, aged 21 at the time she was jailed, of Ivanhoe Road in Edenthorpe, Doncaster, remained in hospital until October 2022 receiving treatment for an injury to her abdomen, fractured ribs, a fractured clavicle, a lung collapse and injuries to her hands and knees. She was subsequently charged with, and pleaded guilty to, one count of causing death by dangerous driving, and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. | Submit
8. Joshua Rafferty: Jailed for nine years
As he sent Joshua Rafferty to begin a nine year sentence of imprisonment for causing the death of his brother Aiden Allen by dangerous driving, The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, acknowledged that Rafferty will have to “live” with what he has done “for the rest of your life.” Judge Richardson continued: “I accept you are filled with guilt, but you are the author of this catastrophe. It is also a family catastrophe. “You killed your brother as a result of your deplorable driving.” Rafferty and Mr Allen, aged 31, had spent the afternoon drinking in pubs together in the hours preceding the horror crash. Subsequent blood toxicology reports carried out on Rafferty revealed him to have an a mixture of Class A drugs and alcohol in his system at the time of the crash, deemed to be six times above the limit for a cocaine breakdown and three times the limit for MDMA, Sheffield Crown Court heard during a sentencing hearing which concluded on April 7, 2025. In the moments preceding the fatal crash on Goodison Boulevard, Cantley, Doncaster, which is subject to a 30 miles per hour (mph) limit, Rafferty had been driving at speeds of 90mph, and had narrowly avoided a head-on collision while travelling on the wrong side of the road. “You killed your brother almost instantly. The car was uninsured and you only held a provisional driving licence,” Judge Richardson told Rafferty, who was 19-years-old at the time of the collision but has since turned 20. Rafferty, previously of Ansten Crescent, Cantley, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to a string of charges including causing death by dangerous driving, dangerous driving and possessing the Class A drugs cocaine and heroin at an earlier hearing. | SYP