Overview

• Stephen Cliff, 40, was sentenced to eight years in prison and banned from driving for 15 years and four months after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
• The crash occurred on December 31, 2022, when Cliff’s Audi collided with a tree on the A167 near Durham, killing his passenger, Stephen Bonallie, 32.
• Court evidence revealed that Cliff was profoundly intoxicated, driving at excessive speed, and attempted a dangerous overtaking maneuver before losing control of the vehicle.
• Bonallie, who had been released from prison in 2021 after serving time for the 2007 murder of Brent Martin, died from unsurvivable head injuries in the crash.
• The case has stirred complex emotions among the families involved, with Bonallie’s mother expressing her grief and Brent Martin’s twin sister offering condolences while reflecting on the cycle of tragedy.