Group mowed down by dad and son in van - prosecutor

A father and son mowed down a group of people with a van in "revenge" for an earlier altercation, a murder trial has heard.

Brian Darby, 60, was killed and three other people, including a 16-year-old boy, were seriously injured in the hit-and-run in Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, in February, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Martin Breeze, 57, and his son Shaun Breeze, 29, deny 11 offences, including murder, manslaughter and attempted murder.

After the attack, they abandoned their "heavily damaged" van and reported it stolen in "a transparent attempt to evade justice", prosecutor Nick Dry said.

In his opening speech to jurors, Mr Dry said Mr Darby was "well known and liked" in Ingleby Barwick and had enjoyed an evening out at the 3 Rivers Bar with friends on 9 February.

Mr Dry said a "good night had been had by all" and there had been "no hint of trouble", but as Mr Darby and four friends made their way home at about 23:30 GMT, Shaun Breeze "barged" through them on a bike.

When the group remonstrated with him and exchanged "unpleasantries", Shaun Breeze gave the impression he had a knife, causing two of them to chase him, the court heard.

Shaun Breeze rode away but collided with another man and fell from his bike, prompting him to flee on foot.

As he ran away, he made a three-minute-long call to his painter-decorator father with whom he lived on Owls Grove in Ingleby Barwick.

Martin Breeze got into his van, picked his son up and then "hunted" down Mr Darby's group, spotting them as they walked on the footpath along Myton Way, Mr Dry said.

"The pair of them had only one thing in mind and that was revenge," the prosecutor said.

The van "made a beeline" for the group at speed across a grass verge and cycle path, before "mowing down" Mr Darby and three of his friends, narrowly missing the fifth person "by the barest of margins", the court heard.

Mr Darby was carried about 490ft (150m) by the van before falling away, Mr Dry said, and was declared dead at the scene.

The accused murderers then abandoned the "heavily damaged" van before going home via a "circuitous route", during which Martin Breeze discarded his phone.

They then called police to report the van being stolen, Mr Dry said, but officers "quickly unpicked" their claim.

A woman suffered life-threatening injuries and two others had multiple broken bones.

When arrested, Martin Breeze told police he had been "off his tree" after spending the night taking cocaine and alcohol, and his van was stolen with his mobile phone in.

Shaun Breeze, who the court heard has an autism diagnosis, made no reply in his interview.

Martin Breeze later told prison guards he was in the van but it was a "tragic accident", Mr Dry said, but the prosecutor said that was implausible.

Mr Dry said it would have been the "coincidence of all coincidences" if the Breezes had "accidentally run over the very people with whom Shaun Breeze had conflicted".

He also said it would have been "outrageous misfortune" if Martin Breeze, who had been "summonsed to the rescue by his son", had "innocently and inexplicably" lost control of his van at the very spot where the group were.

Mr Dry said the van was examined but no defects which could have caused it to crash were found.

Peter Makepeace KC, who is representing Martin Breeze, said his client accepted he was in "in every sense criminally and morally responsible" for the death of Mr Darby and the injuries to the three other people.

Martin Breeze also accepted he was driving dangerously and "lost control" of the van, with Mr Darby and the injured doing "absolutely nothing to contribute" to what happened to them, Mr Makepeace said.

But Martin Breeze denied intentionally driving at the group and having any intent to "kill or cause very serious harm", Mr Makepeace said.

John Elvidge KC, for Shaun Breeze, said it was alleged his client had "assisted or encouraged" Martin Breeze to "drive into people", which he denied.

He urged jurors to reach a decision based on the actual evidence rather than "speculation or guess work".

The trial continues.

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