Police said Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, that they had charged a 50-year-old man with six counts of causing death by dangerous driving over a collision on the A61. The defendant, Christopher Cockell, 50, has an address given as Gresford Close, Woolley Grange, according to an ITV report published Sept. 21.
Cockell has been summonsed and is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Oct. 28. He faces one count of causing death by dangerous driving for each of the six people who died.
The collision happened on the A61 between Staincross and Newmillerdam on July 21, 2024. Those killed were a couple, two of their young daughters, and two people traveling on a motorcycle.
The couple were Shannen Morgan, 30, and Shane Roller, 33. Two of their daughters, Rubie, nine, and Lillie, four, also died. The couple’s surviving daughter, 11, was not in the vehicle.
The motorcycle victims were Christopher Barton, 56, and Janine Barton, 48, from Barnsley. Both were on the BMW motorcycle involved in the collision, and both died.
An inquest previously heard that the BMW motorcycle ridden by Christopher Barton was overtaking another vehicle when it collided head-on with the silver Ford Focus driven by Shane Roller. That inquest also heard the collision happened shortly before 4 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon.
An earlier charge against Cockell, brought in March 2025, accused him of failing to stop at the scene of the crash.
Cockell was not in either of the vehicles that collided, and police have not said publicly what part his driving is alleged to have played. The inquest heard in August 2024 that a 48-year-old man, the driver of another car not involved in the collision, had been arrested days after the crash on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
Tributes and a Fundraiser
Callum Roller, Shane Roller’s brother, wrote on social media at the time that he was “lost for words,” and paid tribute to those killed. In the same post, he wrote: “You all had a heart of gold and gonna miss you all like crazy!”
Shane Roller’s father, Graham, paid tribute after the crash to his son and daughter-in-law, whom he described as an “amazing” mum and dad, ITV reported Sept. 21.
Athersley North Primary School, where Rubie and Lillie were pupils, said in a tribute reported by ITV on Sept. 21 that the incident was a “devastating, tragic loss.” The school said of the older girl: “She always worked really hard and was well-liked by her friends. She was a fantastic role model for her peers and aspired to be a teacher.” It added: “Both girls were an asset to the school and a delight to teach.”
A fundraiser set up for the couple’s surviving 11-year-old daughter has raised more than £400,000.
Two families are grieving after the crash. Christopher and Janine Barton of Barnsley were both killed, while the other household lost a mother, a father and two young girls; a public fundraising appeal has since centered on the care and schooling of the daughter who survived. For relatives of the six killed, the court process is only beginning.
