Man jailed for causing death of man in Wolverhampton hit-and-run
Aden Wright was reportedly buying drugs with fraudulent money that night
Last updated 5th Dec 2025
A man from Wolverhampton has been jailed 14 years and disqualified from driving after a man died in a hit-and-run last year.
29-year-old Ryan Griffiths was hit on Burleigh Road in August last year and was left "lying motionless" on the road, a West Midlands police spokesperson said.
He died two days later in hospital.
27-year-old Aden Wright was found guilty of death by dangerous driving.
The court heard how Wright was reportedly buying drugs with fraudulent money that night.
When it was found to be fake by someone else, he drove away at speed hitting Ryan.
Wright refused to admit he was the driver.
A West Midlands police spokesperson said, "Officers had been carrying out immediate enquiries, and their investigation led them to believe Aden Wright, the registered keeper of the vehicle, was driving the Golf at the time.
"Following thorough investigative work, the car was recovered and forensically examined.
"A manhunt was launched for Wright, and he was arrested within a week.
"Our investigation found Wright was linked to purchasing drugs, which is why he was in the area that night.
"Detectives found he tried to use other people within the vehicle to buy the drugs on his behalf using fraudulent money, and when the money was found to be fake by someone else at the scene - Wright drove away at speed.
"He collided with Ryan and then stopped to collect a passenger. Despite seeing Ryan lying motionless in the road, he left the scene.
"What followed was a series of calculated actions by Wright to try and get away with his crime.
"He enlisted the help of others to take the vehicle off the road the following day, changed the ownership into someone else's name, and then tried to get family members to help frame that person as the driver.
"Despite our strong evidence proving he was the driver at the time, Wright insisted that it was the other person who was behind the wheel."