The parents of a teenager killed in a horrific road crash say his death threatened to tear their family apart, as cruel online commenters claimed that he had deserved to die.
Shae Marlow, 16, died after the Volkswagen Golf he was driving ploughed into a stone gatepost in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, on November 3 2020. He suffered multiple serious injuries and died at the scene.
An inquest was launched into the teen's death and on Friday a jury decided that a police car that had accelerated up to the Gold moments before the crash "most likely" contributed to the way he drove in the lead up to the fatal incident. The hearing was told that cops were responding to reports of a break-in when they spotted the Golf, which accelerated away.
Tragically, the inquest heard that the first officer to arrive at the scene of the reported burglary found "no evidence of anything untoward" in the area. Despite this, Shae was the subject of toxic comments claiming that he "deserved" what happened to him.
Speaking to the Record's sister paper the Manchester Evening News, Shae's father Malcolm Marlow said the family felt "vindicated" by the admission that there was no incident "blackening" his son's name. The family had insisted for months that there was no connection between the alleged incident and Shae's being in the area.
Malcolm said: "It has been two years fighting for this. It blackened his name and we've had comments from people saying he deserved what happened which hurt beyond belief.
"My son wasn't a burglar. There was no burglary.
"All he was guilty of was driving under age. He did make a mistake getting into that car, we own that.
"But he was 16. He has seen the police and he has panicked."
The inquest heard that police followed Shae's Golf to get a look at its registration plate, but the vehicle then sped away and began overtaking another car. PC El-Hage, who had been at the wheel of the police car, said he then brought the car to a halt because he was not authorised to carry out pursuits.
Minutes later, he and his two colleagues were asked to help with an incident in Stalybridge town centre – and were flagged down by motorists who had happened upon Shae's fatal smash. Brian Orr, of Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) serious collision investigation unit, told the inquest that he believed Shae had seen the police car.
Forensic investigators told the court that Shae had been travelling somewhere between 52 and 58mph when the Golf struck the gatepost after attempting an overtaking manoeuvre. Crash investigator Mr Orr stated that he believed Shae had "overcompensated" as he corrected the car.
The inquest jury's findings stated: "The motor vehicle was travelling at high speed in dark, damp conditions when Mr Marlow lost control of the vehicle after completing an overtaking manouvre. Police presence most likely influenced Mr Marlow's decision to drive at high speed."
Shae's dad, Malcolm, added that the 16-year-old had been a "brilliant" lad, and that his funeral's attendance was comparable to that of a celebrity. He added: "Every single day we think about what happened and every single day it hurts. It's ripped our lives and our family apart, to this day it has."
In a statement released on Friday evening, GMP said: "Our thoughts remain with Shae Marlow who sadly lost his life in this collision, along with his friends and family who have been left understandably devastated. We acknowledge the jury's conclusion."
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