Driver found guilty of murder after dragging headteacher under car for a mile

The verdict

Simon Richardson, 35, was found guilty of murder and of dangerous driving at Manchester Minshull Street crown court on 30 October 2026. The jury's verdicts come after a trial that heard how Michael Mullins, 56, was cycling home from Stretford grammar school on the early evening of 20 April 2026 when he was hit in Warburton, Greater Manchester. Richardson is due to be sentenced on Monday, 2 November 2026.

How the collision unfolded

Prosecutors said Richardson's Volvo XC90 went past give-way markers at a junction in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, and into the path of Mullins. The cyclist fell onto the bonnet and windscreen before sliding beneath the vehicle. The court heard that Mullins became caught in the suspension as Richardson kept driving, and that Richardson was aware the trapped cyclist was only inches below his feet shortly after the impact in Warburton.

What prosecutors said happened next

Prosecutors said Richardson drove to a remote farm track in Lymm, 1.3 miles from Paddock Lane, in an attempt to free Mullins from under the car. He tried twice to pull him out, then got back into the vehicle, swerved from side to side and mounted a grass verge. Mullins was eventually released, but he was run over again as Richardson reversed and drove off. Phil Barnes KC told jurors that Richardson had a brief moment in which he could have stopped to help, but chose not to.

“He chose to drive away. The obvious reason is because he wanted to escape the consequences of what he had just done.”

Richardson's cousin, who was his front-seat passenger, told the trial that the two of them heard sounds from outside as he drove away from the scene. The cousin said Richardson then told them the man was under the car.

Discovery and death

A motorcyclist followed a trail of blood from Paddock Lane and found Mullins alone and barely breathing on a grass verge. Emergency services attended but could not save him. Mullins, who was from Northwich, Cheshire, died from multiple injuries. The verdicts end a case that centred on the moments after the collision, when the court was told the driver kept going with the cyclist beneath his car.