// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Driver jailed after killing 'devoted' mum while fleeing police
Michael Connors, 28, admitted causing death by dangerous driving
A dangerous driver has been jailed for 13 years after causing the death of a "devoted" mum while he fled police.
Michael Connors went on the run to Ireland after killing Lydia La Polla, 47, in Wrexham in March 2025. He was extradited on an international arrest warrant.
Connors, 28, had been driving at 71mph in a 20mph zone seconds before the crash, which also seriously injured the victim's husband Robert La Polla, 44, and a 16-year-old girl who was a passenger in the car driven by the defendant.
Judge Simon Mills told Mold Crown Court that Lydia's "excellent life was needlessly cut short at the age of 47, not far from her 25th wedding anniversary".
Connors did not have insurance or a driving licence when he killed Lydia La Polla
Judge Mills said Connors, who was driving a silver Mercedes, fled the scene in a "cowardly fashion".
"If the defendant has any sense of decency at all, he will carry the weight of what he did until the end of his days," he said.
Judge Mills said Connors should not have been driving the vehicle, as he did not have insurance or a driving licence.
He added: "We don't know whether you were under the influence of cannabis or not. I don't assume you were although four wraps of it were found in the vehicle."