Man jailed after killing then friend in Newburgh collision when drink driving
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
“It doesn’t feel right being a four, does it?”
These are the words of Julie, Ged, Anthony and Jonathan Tromp. The youngest child in their family is Christopher, who was killed in a collision at just 20-years-old.
Today, Matthew Bennett, the man who was drink driving the night Christopher died, has been jailed.
On Friday 14th April 2023, Christopher was home from Newcastle University for the Easter Holidays. Less than a week before the collision, he and his family had celebrated Easter by going to church and having all their extended family round for a meal – something they did often. Christopher had been applying for placements after his upcoming graduation in the summer.
Bennett, an old school friend of Christopher’s was a student living in Liverpool at the time. He and Christopher had arranged to meet up at a pub in their hometown of Parbold for a drink, and to make arrangements for Bennett’s upcoming 21st birthday.
Christopher lived less than half a mile away from the pub, but despite the short distance, he never made it home that night.
Bennett and Christopher arrived at the pub in Bennett’s Audi. The two are seen on the pub’s CCTV drinking in the beer garden.
Bennett (pictured below) bought the last round, after drinking six pints of alcohol. He left the pub carrying a bottle of Corona Extra lager, before getting in his car, with Christopher in the passenger seat.
Bennett, who already had six points on his driving license for speeding, drove to Skelmersdale McDonald’s, going through the drive thru whilst under the influence. Both Christopher and Bennett are shown to be wearing their seatbelts correctly as they go through the Drive Thru.
Bennett began to make the drive back, heading towards the nearby village of Newburgh, on Cobbs Brow Lane.
Bennett was familiar with Cobbs Brow Lane – it is a route he will have driven many times. The lane is in a rural area, dark without street lighting, and with fields on either side. The section of the road where the collision happened has a 40mph speed limit. Bennett was more than likely travelling at speeds you would expect to see on a motorway – 70mph or above.
At around 10:45pm, on a left-hand bend of the rural road, Bennett lost control of his car. He drove on to the wrong side of the road, driving with the driver’s side wheel on the grass verge before colliding with two sets of trees.
The force of the collision was so significant that the seatbelt mechanisms were destroyed, and Christopher was thrown from the car. Christopher suffered significant injuries and died at the scene.
The Audi’s engine, radiator, front grill and windscreen were also ejected, with the engine coming to rest further down the road.
Bennett himself suffered significant injuries and spent several weeks in a coma.
Bennett was interviewed by our officers about the collision.
He later received a summons to court for causing death by dangerous driving.
Bennett pleaded not guilty and ran a trial. Christopher’s family sat and heard the evidence, seeing footage of the aftermath of the collision, and hearing about Christopher’s final moments for six days. At one point in the trial, Bennett attempted to say that he didn’t even know if he was the one driving, despite CCTV placing him in the driver’s seat.
It took a jury just 90 minutes to unanimously find Bennett guilty.
He returned to the dock at Preston Crown Court today (24th March) and was sentenced to nine years in prison. He must serve two thirds of that sentence before he is eligible to be released. He was disqualified from driving for 11 years and must pass an extended re-test before he can re-gain his license.
Christopher’s family lost a much-loved son and brother, an ‘incredibly likeable person’, who was ‘naturally quite academically bright.’
They prepared Victim Personal Statements to be shared with the court today, and with their blessing, we are going to share excerpts of them with you.
From Julie and Ged, Chris’ Mum and Dad: “When Chris was killed, our family didn’t shatter or break apart, we pulled together and remain close, supporting each other. Our lives were shattered of course, but we have tried our utmost to maintain our own dignity and values and honour Chris’ memory in the very best way we can.
“It is not possible to measure the impact of losing him and continuing without him is incredibly painful. A day doesn’t go by where we don’t think about him and realise, we miss him so much. We simply don’t have him around as he should be and as we expected he always would be. We set the dinner table for four not five. We talk about him, not to him. We have lots of photos but there will be no more, and we have to rely on our memories without the opportunity of making new ones.”
They continued: “It is almost three years since Chris was killed, and we have had all that time to try and rebuild some kind of life around our grief. However, we have also lived with the knowledge that the person responsible has never acknowledged this or shown any remorse for his actions.”
Speaking about the trial they said: “The four of us sat here day after day, holding onto each other, watching the video of Chris getting in that car just willing him to turn around and walk home and come back to us. All the while, of course, knowing he didn’t and he isn’t.
“Nothing is bringing Chris back to us, we know that but losing him wasn’t simply the result of a tragic accident, it was avoidable, the result of one person’s reckless and dangerous behaviour. Matthew’s lack of understanding, compassion and inability to accept responsibility for his actions have added massively to our distress and grief. It has taken a jury to make him accept what he has done and that, to us, is something incomprehensible.”
Anthony, Chris’ eldest brother said: “When I think of Chris, I still see the little boy I helped take his first steps. I remember holding his hands as he wobbled forward, and the way he would put on dance shows after family tea, making us all laugh and clap along. He was always the small, cheeky boy with the biggest smile.”
He continued: “Chris was never nasty – he was the complete opposite. You would never meet a kinder, more empathetic lad. He was the best of us three brothers. He would help anyone, even someone who had treated him badly. That was who he was, and I believe that same kindness, that inability to say no for fear of hurting someone’s feelings, is what led him to get in the car with the boy who killed him.”
Jonathan, Chris’ older brother said: “Since Chris died, me any my family as well as all the people who knew and loved Chris have pulled together to help each other. It is testament to Chris that such a loving and caring community has been left in his wake, he lived life to the fullest and with the most kindness and compassion a person can possess. We all remember Chris for the special character he was, and we all experience the pain of his absence together as a team. My own life has been changed immeasurably by losing Chris, learning how to live without him is a constant process and will continue to prove challenging for many years to come. Every significant experience I have had since Chris died exposed the tragic knowledge that I cannot share it with him. Knowing that I will live the rest of his life wanting to tell him about anything and everything I achieve, and that I will never be able to do that, presents the most overwhelming psychological burden that I can’t put into words.”
Sgt Laura Kendall, of our Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “Christopher was evidently a dearly loved young man, who had a long life ahead of him, a life that was tragically cut short by Matthew Bennett’s dangerous driving.
“Firstly, I must commend Christopher’s family for how they have conducted themselves during our investigation and throughout court proceedings. In a time of such upset and loss, they have shown incredible strength and bravery. My, and the team’s thoughts remain with them, as they continue to rebuild their lives following their loss of Christopher.
“I don’t doubt that Bennett never intended on taking a life that night, but he did know how much he had to drink, he knew the road – that it was a rural area, surrounded by trees, with a 40mph speed limit - yet he still chose to drive, and to drive dangerously.
“He called himself Christoper’s friend, yet has not once admitted his guilt, forcing Christopher’s family and loved ones to endure a six day trial.
"It is not my place to comment on the sentence passed today, but I do hope that now justice has been done, and Bennett has received a custodial sentence, Christopher’s family can feel some sense of closure, and that Bennett can reflect on his own actions.
“What happened to Christopher was preventable. Drink driving is not and never will be ok. It is dangerous, it is criminal, and it takes lives.
“If you are in the pub or have had a drink and think ‘it’s ok, I know the roads’, or ‘it’s ok, I’ve only had a few’, I want you to stop and think of Christopher. I want you to think of his family, and what they have said today. You could so easily cause that level of devastation if you choose to get behind the wheel when drunk.”
Joanna White of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Matthew Bennett drank six pints of alcohol before getting behind the wheel, then drove dangerously, at speed, and lost control of the car, killing 20-year-old Christopher Tromp in the process.
“Christopher was a young man who should have had his whole life ahead of him. That was cruelly cut short by the irresponsible actions of a man who claimed to be a friend.
“Not only has Bennett taken the life of a much loved, son, brother, godson, and friend, he inflicted further trauma on those that loved Christopher by failing to accept responsibility for his actions, putting them through a trial where he was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.
“I know there is nothing I can say to lessen the devastation felt by so many who loved Christopher, I can only hope that now Bennett has been brought to justice, they can begin to move forward.
“I hope this case serves as a warning to those who get behind the wheel of a car after drinking alcohol. Life is precious and driving after drinking alcohol can have fatal consequences.”
If you suspect someone may be drink driving, or driving dangerously, please do the responsible thing and report it. If a crime is ongoing, always call 999. If you have information to pass to us, and it is non-urgent, call 101.
