A van driver involved in a dramatic police chase has admitted causing the death of a mother-of-three who was searching for her golf ball when he struck her.
Chaotic Pursuit Through Birmingham Streets
John McDonald, 52, of Bloxwich, entered his guilty plea to causing death by dangerous driving at Worcester Crown Court on Monday, 12 January 2026, the very day his trial was scheduled to begin. The court heard harrowing details of a 12-minute police pursuit through Birmingham, during which McDonald drove at speeds up to 70mph.
Prosecutors outlined a catalogue of dangerous manoeuvres. McDonald damaged other vehicles, drove on the wrong side of the road, mounted pavements, and rammed a pursuing police car at least eight times in a desperate attempt to escape.
Tragedy on the Fairway
The chase culminated at the Aston Wood Golf Club in Shenstone, Staffordshire, on 11 April last year. Suzanne Cherry, 62, from Aldridge, was playing golf with her husband, Clint Harrison, when the incident occurred.
As Ms Cherry searched for her golf ball near a stream on the course, McDonald's van, which had left the road and gone up an embankment, hit her. Shockingly, the court was told that McDonald then stepped over her body as he fled the scene.
Suzanne Cherry sustained multiple catastrophic injuries and died four days later at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Fraud Conspiracy and Ongoing Investigations
In a related case, McDonald and two co-defendants also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. Johnny McDonald, 23, of Dudley, and Brett Delaney, 35, of Darlaston, admitted to conspiring to make false representations for unnecessary roofing work between 17 February and 12 April last year.
All three men had previously denied charges of manslaughter, which are no longer being pursued following the guilty plea to the driving charge.
Following the tragedy, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation into the circumstances leading to the collision and the involvement of West Midlands Police officers. The IOPC stated that two patrol cars began following the van in Kingstanding, Birmingham, after reports of suspicious activity. Police stopped the pursuit when the van left the road at the golf club.
In a heartfelt statement, Ms Cherry's husband, Clint Harrison, described watching "in helpless horror" as his wife's life was "snatched away in an instant." He paid tribute to her "amazing and infectious zest for life," stating she would be "painfully missed" by her mother, her three adult children, two step-children, and a wide circle of friends.
The sentencing hearing is expected to continue on Tuesday.
