Spencer Rothwell-Poole was an "amazingly safe and careful motorbike rider, who did everything by the book," his grieving brother said
Credit: Greater Manchester Police
NEED TO KNOW
- Cormac Sale, 22, was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in connection with a fatal collision
- Sale struck and killed motorcyclist Spencer Rothwell-Poole, 22, on Dec. 14, 2024, while driving high on ketamine
- Sale was “almost 10 times over the legal limit” for the drug and driving on the opposite side of the road at the time of the collision, per police
“Cormac Sale didn’t just kill my son. He killed the family.”
This is what the father of Spencer Rothwell-Poole said about the driver who struck and killed his son while high on ketamine, according to a news release from Greater Manchester Police in the United Kingdom.
On Thursday, Feb. 26, Cormac Sale, 22, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison for the accident, which occurred in the evening of Dec. 14, 2024, police said in the Feb. 27 release. Sale has also been banned from driving for more than 12 years.
Sale was driving a Skoda Fabia when he collided with Rothwell-Poole, who was driving a motorbike, on Chorley Old Road in Horwich, a town in the borough of Bolton, per police. Officers responded to the collision at about 9:40 p.m. local time, and Rothwell-Poole died at the scene.
Credit: Greater Manchester Police
Sale, meanwhile, was arrested, and authorities discovered that at the time of the collision, he “was found to be almost 10 times over the legal limit for ketamine,” per police.
Further investigation of CCTV footage and sightings from other drivers the night of the fatal collision revealed that Sale had been “driving erratically throughout the evening,” according to police.
“He was also driving on the opposite side of the road when the collision occurred,” police said.
Ketamine is a "dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects," per the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The use of ketamine is legal for some medical purposes in both the United States and the U.K., but the drug is also illegally taken to get high, as it can put people into a relaxed or detached state.
Credit: Greater Manchester Police
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As Sale's sentencing was announced on Thursday, Rothwell-Poole’s family shared heartbreaking statements about the death of the motorcyclist.
His father — who, per a GoFundMe fundraiser, had “lost his wife” months before the accident — described his youngest son as “very kind and thoughtful,” noting that “even though he was very shy, Spencer was always there with a smile on his face.”
At 7 p.m. the night of the accident, he said, “I hugged my boy for the last time. I told him that I loved him and to stay safe. He went out on his bike and never came back, all because of one mindless person that night.”
"Cormac Sale didn’t just kill my son. He killed the family,” the grieving father said. "I will never forgive him for taking away one of the most precious, loving people in my life.”
Credit: gofundme
The late motorcyclist’s brother echoed his father’s sentiments about Rothwell-Poole, stating, “It has nearly killed me multiple times due to the fact he has gone. The thought of him not being able to reach his full potential in life is a pain that hits me every day.”
"In his short 22 years of life, he was my best friend, someone I could turn to when I needed to, and I was the same for him,” the older sibling continued. “He was an amazingly safe and careful motorbike rider, who did everything by the book.
“I miss him every day," he added.
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