Ketamine-addicted driver who killed biker in horror smash asked paramedics ‘has there been a car crash?’

Cormac Sale was ‘incoherent and disorientated’ following the crash that claimed the life of Spencer Rothwell-Poole

19:39, 26 Feb 2026Updated 17:23, 27 Feb 2026

Cormac Sale(Image: GMP)

A ketamine-addicted driver who killed a biker in a horror smash asked paramedics: “Has there been a car crash?”

Cormac Sale, 22, was seen weaving in and out of traffic; overtaking vehicles on the wrong side of the road; and driving at high speeds.

The crash that followed, on December 14, 2024, claimed the life of Spencer Rothwell-Poole.

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Bolton Crown Court heard that at around 9.40pm, Sale drove onto opposite side of Chorley Old Road in Bolton and hit Mr Rothwell-Poole.

The 22-year-old motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. Sale was ‘incoherent and disorientated’ in the wake of the tragedy, asking medics: “Has there been a car crash?”

He was found to be nearly 10 times the legal ketamine limit. Sale has since pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He has been jailed for 10 years and eight months.

Jonathan Savage, prosecuting, said numerous witnesses reported concerns about Sale’s driving in the lead up to the crash. He said visibility was poor due to adverse weather. The road was governed by a 40mph limit, he added.

Spencer Rothwell-Poole

Sale, then 21, was travelling towards Bolton at the time. A driver on the opposite side of the road saw Sale’s Skoda Fabia travelling at high speeds and overtaking cars. She had to swerve to avoid him.

Another driver sounded his horn and someone else had to pull into a kerb. One witness described him as ‘expressionless’.

A couple in front of Sale was forced to pull over after he accelerated behind them. They estimating he was travelling between 60mph and 75mph.

CCTV captured the moment Sale hit Mr Rothwell-Poole, who was riding his Yamaha motorbike appropriately.

“The defendant crossed onto the opposite side of the carriageway causing the collision,” Mr Savage told the court. “Spencer was thrown from his motorbike.”

Despite the efforts of members of the public and paramedics at the scene, Mr Rothwell-Poole died from his injuries. A post mortem concluded he sustained multiple injuries consistent with a high-speed collision.

Sale was assessed at the roadside. He was disorientated and unable to answer questions. He claimed he had been driving at 30mph.

“He was asked about medication or drugs and he said he had taken an unspecified amount of ketamine and was being treated for an addiction,” Mr Savage added. He was arrested and found to have 192 microgrammes of ketamine per 100ml of blood – nearly 10 times to legal limit of 20 microgrammes.

Sale later told officers he was addicted to ketamine and took three-and-a-half grams of the drug daily. The court heard he was not insured at the time of the crash. Due to payment issues, his policy had been cancelled two days earlier.

Spencer Rothwell-Poole, 22, was killed in a crash in Chorley Old Road, Horwich, Bolton, on Saturday (December 14)

Sale’s phone contained a number of videos and pictures, one of which was taken around six months earlier and showed him sucking on a balloon while driving.

The camera panned to a woman in the passenger seat. She appeared to be holding a nitrous oxide canister. She was then seen moving the steering wheel with her foot.

A picture taken the same day as the fatal crash showed the car being driven without hands on the wheel.

David James, mitigating, said Sale was unable to remember the crash but accepted it was his fault. He said he felt genuine remorse and had been making efforts to address his addiction.

Jailing Cormac – of Ina Avenue, Bolton – for 10 years and eight months, Judge Jon Close said: “You were in no condition to be driving.

“I have read and heard the moving and powerful victim impact statements from Mr Rothwell-Poole’s father and brother. They speak of their unbearable loss, endless pain and ruin you left in your wake and the suffered that will never end.

“You have taken from them more than you can ever hope to realise. Your selfish actions took the life of a good man who was very much loved. I suspect you will, as you should, carry the weight of this for the rest of your life.”

Sale was banned from driving for 12 years and one month.