A so-called cowboy roofer who killed a mother of three by ploughing into her on a golf course during a 70mph police chase then stepped over her body as he fled, a court has heard.
A 12-Minute Pursuit of Carnage
Van driver John McDonald, 52, led officers on a terrifying 12-minute pursuit through Birmingham on 11 April last year. Worcester Crown Court was told he damaged multiple vehicles, drove on the wrong side of the road, mounted pavements and rammed a police car at least eight times in a desperate bid to escape.
The chase, which reached speeds of 70mph, saw McDonald run red lights and weave through traffic before he entered the grounds of Aston Wood Golf Club in Shenstone, Staffordshire. It was there that Suzanne Cherry, 62, was playing golf with her husband, Clint Harrison.
The Moment of Impact
Ms Cherry was searching for her ball near a stream when McDonald's grey Nissan NV300 van careered over an embankment. Her husband shouted to warn her, but the court heard she "could not possibly have got out the way".
The collision caused multiple catastrophic injuries, including rib fractures, torn carotid arteries and severe lacerations to her liver and spleen. Suzanne Cherry died in hospital on 15 April, the day before her 63rd birthday. Medical evidence stated she would have been severely disabled had she survived, leading to the decision to withdraw treatment.
As McDonald, his son Johnny McDonald, 23, and fellow passenger Brett Delaney, 35, fled the scene, Mr Harrison shouted after them: "You bastards, you've killed my wife".
A Trail of Fraud and Exploitation
The court heard the defendants' day had begun with crime. They had just followed an elderly customer to a cash machine after carrying out unnecessary roofing work on her home, part of a sophisticated fraud conspiracy.
Operating under the guise of Approved Roofs Ltd, the trio had conned four elderly women – aged 61, 79, 83 and 88 – into paying "exorbitant amounts for bad work". One victim paid nearly £10,000, later needing a further £7,000 to repair the shoddy work they had done.
All three men admitted conspiracy to commit fraud between 17 February and 12 April last year. The prosecution said the victims were targeted "on the basis of vulnerability - their age".
Family's Heartbreak and Courtroom Admission
In a powerful victim impact statement, Clint Harrison looked directly at John McDonald in the dock and said his wife's life was "violently and senselessly ended". He described the defendants as having valued their "temporary freedom more than her right to live".
Ms Cherry's brother, Adrian Cherry, remembered her as "tough and resilient" with a "zest for life and adventure". He told the court: "My life will never be the same."
John McDonald, who held a tissue and looked at the floor throughout the hearing, admitted causing death by dangerous driving on Monday, the day his trial was due to start. He had previously denied manslaughter.
When arrested, McDonald responded to news of the death with the question: "Someone died?" Delaney later told police both he and Johnny McDonald had tried to tell the driver to stop during the pursuit.
The sentencing hearing was expected to continue on Tuesday, 13 January 2026.
