AN IRISHMAN who caused the death of a woman by dangerous driving as he fled from police in Wales has been jailed for 13 years and one month.
Michael Connors, 28, of Landen Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin was sentenced at Mold Crown Court this week having previously admitted causing the death of 47-year-old Lydia La Polla from Wrexham.
Connors was also sentenced for causing serious injury by dangerous driving to Ms La Polla's husband and a 16-year-old girl.
"My life will never be the same again," said Robert La Polla. "To say I am heartbroken is an understatement."
On March 24, 2025, Connors was driving a silver Mercedes car when he made off from police and collided with a Toyota car between Belgrave Road and Percy Road in Hightown, Wrexham.
Ms La Polla, the driver of the Toyota, sadly died from her injuries in Stoke Hospital two days later on March 26, 2025.
Her husband, who was a passenger in her car, was seriously injured in the collision.
Connors and another male in the silver Mercedes fled the scene, leaving two young passengers behind in the car.
One of them, a 16-year-old girl, was also seriously injured.
'Sadness never truly goes away'
In a victim impact statement read out to the court on sentencing, Mr La Polla said the death of his beloved wife had left him with a 'profound sense of loss'.
"Lydia was a wonderful mother to our children and they absolutely adored her," he said.
"It breaks my heart to know that their mother won't be there for their weddings and she won't be there to see them grow up and have children of their own.
"Our close family unit has been shattered into a thousand pieces and it will never be the same again without Lydia."
Ms La Polla's daughter added that losing her mother is a 'pain that words cannot describe'.
"This collision did not just take my mum from me; it took away the future I always imagined with her in it. It changed my family forever," she wrote.
"I have lost the person who loved me unconditionally, who guided me through life and who was always there whenever I needed her. No amount of time will ever heal that loss.
"The sadness never truly goes away; I have simply had to learn how to carry it."
'Unimaginable pain'
Speaking following sentencing, Chief Superintendent Jaqueline Downes said Ms La Polla's family 'continue to live with the devastating consequences of this incident'.
"No one should ever leave their home and not return safely," she added.
"Lydia's family conducted themselves with the utmost dignity throughout this complex and protracted case and I am grateful to them for their trust in our investigation.
"I would also like to thank the members of the public who came to assist those at the scene of the collision before the emergency services arrived.
"In addition to the prison sentence Connors will now serve, he must live with the knowledge that his actions resulted in Lydia's death and has caused unimaginable pain to her family, as well as serious injury of two more people."
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