Former Manchester United footballer Brandon Williams has received a suspended jail sentence for dangerous driving after he reached almost 100mph seconds before his vehicle collided with another car.
Williams, 24, was spotted driving at high speeds and in an erratic manner in an Audi A3 on the A34 near Handforth, Cheshire, on August 20 2023.
His vehicle collided with a Ford Fiesta before crashing into the central reservation.
Williams was on loan at Ipswich Town at the time of incident.
Last June, Manchester United announced he would leave the club at the end of his contract.
In March, he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and having no insurance.
On Friday, at Chester Crown Court, he was sentenced to a 14-month jail term, suspended for two years.
Recorder Eric Lamb also banned him from driving for three years and ordered he must undertake 180 hours of unpaid work as part of a community order.
A female motorist travelling behind Williams on the dual carriageway shortly before 6pm thought he was not in control of his vehicle, which was braking heavily and dropping back to leave a small gap, the court heard.
Max Saffman, prosecuting, said the woman noticed the driver and a female passenger appeared to have yellow balloons in their mouths, and she was “scared” they would collide with her vehicle.
The Audi overtook and swerved in front of her, in what she said was a “needless manoeuvre”.
Williams then repeated the same behaviour as he drove up to a Ford Fiesta driven by Clare Smith, the court was told, but as he pulled out to overtake he hit the rear of her vehicle and then careered into the central reservation.
Both vehicles were extensively damaged.
In victim personal statements Ms Smith and her two female passengers all described Williams’s driving as “too fast and erratic”. One said she thought she was going to be killed.
They sustained various physical injuries, including whiplash and bruising, and all had suffered a psychological impact.
The court was told that Williams’s “prolonged episode” of dangerous driving took place over five miles and, although he was not under the influence of Class C drug nitrous oxide at the time, he had assisted his front-seat passenger to use her balloon.
Collision investigators concluded that Williams was driving at 99mph on the 70mph limit road just four seconds before the crash.
Richard Littler KC, defending, said: “This episode of dangerous driving, he says himself, was underpinned by a lack of maturity, stupidity and, moreover, trying to be ostentatious.
“He was driving like an idiot well in excess of the speed limit and was showing off.
“He has previously used nitrous oxide as a recreational drug when he was much younger but he was not using it at the time. He was though assisting the front seat passenger to so use it.
“This is a defendant who is genuinely remorseful and he wishes to apologise through the court to anyone he has harmed either physically or emotionally by his actions when he was driving that car.
“He accepts there is no excuse for what he did.”
The barrister said Williams, who had no previous convictions, was “keen to get his life back on track”.
He said: “Let go by Manchester United in 2024 having joined the club at the age of seven after being scouted, he was a regular player in the 2019-2020 season.
“His career was then blighted by an interruption, which was Covid.
“The demands of being a professional footballer were huge. Relationships with those close to him became strained and he moved in different circles which alienated him from those who truly cared for him.
“This was where he was at the time of the driving incident in 2023.”
Williams is working with two fitness coaches in the hope that he can land a professional contract this summer, the court heard.
Mr Littler went on: “One of those coaches, Sean O’Shea, is of the opinion that he had too much money, too soon and the inability to deal with all that brings.
“He says this is a common theme when football coaches deal with young players.”
Mr Littler added: “In the last few years, Brandon Williams has had to live with significant mental health and neurological issues.
“He is in a better shape mentally and physically right now.
“Knowing the harm he caused to others and the pressure of these proceedings coming have weighed heavily on his shoulders.
“This is a defendant who is trying his level best to get his career back on track and improve his physical and mental wellbeing.”
Recorder Lamb noted the references from Mr O’Shea and a fellow football coach, Wayne Richardson, as well as Williams’s work with homelessness charity Shelter, and told him: “There is a different side to your character.”
Williams was supported in court by his parents and two close friends.
He made no comment after sentencing.
