Hayley Maughan gives evidence in murder trial following death of her four-year-old son Peter in Southfleet
The mum of little Peter Maughan - the four-year-old killed when his parents' pickup truck was deliberately rammed in an alleged high speed hit-and-run - told police "mother's instinct" caused her to fear a crash, a murder trial has heard today. In an interview recorded at King's College Hospital in London, 12 days after the fatal smash, Hayley Maughan described "panicking, screaming and her heart racing" as she, her husband and their two children were being chased in their Ford Ranger Wildtrak along the A2 from Cobham to Pepperhill at Northfleet.
At the wheel of the pursuing vehicle, also a Wildtrak, was her cousin Owen Maughan and his father - Hayley's uncle by marriage - Patrick Maughan, who is also known as Francis. The pair, of Hill Rise, Darenth, were said to be "in a fury" when, having followed Hayley, Lovell, Peter and Annarica from the A2 and into New Barn Road, Southfleet, they "clipped" the rear of Lovell's truck at an estimated 60mph.
The impact caused the vehicle to spin out of control and roll up to three times before coming to a rest, upright, on the wrong side of the road and facing a hedge. Peter, who was thrown from the Ford Ranger and found by his mum lying face down on grass some distance away, suffered "severe and devastating" injuries to his head, chest and abdomen and was subsequently pronounced dead at hospital. While Hayley and one-year-old Annarica escaped with minor injuries, Lovell, who was then 24, suffered multiple fractures and brain trauma leaving him unlikely to ever walk again, jurors at Maidstone Crown Court have been told.
Although 27-year-old Owen Maughan has admitted manslaughter in respect of Peter, who was affectionately known by loved ones as Peter Rabbit, he denies murder.
His 54-year-old father denies both murder and manslaughter.
It is the prosecution's case that in accepting he deliberately rammed Lovell's vehicle, Owen Maughan intended to kill or cause really serious harm, while Patrick, as front seat passenger, was "actively encouraging" the dangerous manner of his son's driving. Hayley herself told police that her father's brother-in-law was "blood red" in the face with anger, "spitting and frothing" at the mouth just seconds before the crash. Having also described the collision as deliberate, she added Patrick Maughan had "revved up" the situation making it "10 times worse".
On the evening of Sunday, June 1, 2025, she and her husband had taken their children to the McDonald's drive-thru on Princes Road, Dartford, before heading to Pepe's restaurant in Maidstone High Street.
Having then decided to go for a drive to get the youngsters off to sleep, they headed towards the A2 via the M2, joining the motorway at Blue Bell Hill. The family were just five minutes ahead of the defendants in their vehicle, who had spent the afternoon and evening drinking in Rochester, with Owen having 12 bottles of lager and his father 13 pints. The court was told it was "by chance" that the two parties came together on the A2 that night and that the reason for any dispute between them was not known.
Hayley's video interview with police was played to jurors this morning on what is day three of the trial.
She described how as a family they had been "happy, laughing and joking" as they drove along.
However, she then noticed the Maughans' truck when it pulled up beside them, and that Lovell had said it was "trying to come on top" of them. She also described how it had weaved left to right and gone backwards and forwards but that at no stage had it got ahead of them while on the four-lane carriageway. Some of the pursuit was also filmed by Hayley using WhatsApp and sent, along with a series of voice notes, to her mum, Erica.
At one stage, she captured the moment both vehicles, having left the A2 at Pepperhill, pulled up alongside each other at the roundabout at the end of the slip road.
Picture: Family handout
As abuse was exchanged, Lovell could be heard shouting at the defendants that there were children in his truck and offering to fight later on.
It was then approximately 320m from the roundabout, and a mile from their home in Brakefield Road, Southfleet, that the fatal crash occurred. Having told police in her interview that she wanted "justice for my child", Hayley said she initially told her husband when they were on the A2 that she thought the driver of the other vehicle was most likely "someone stupid using their phone". However, she said she then turned and saw Owen Maughan at the wheel.
Although he was her cousin, she added they did not associate with each other and did not speak. Recalling her fear as the chase unfolded, she told officers: "I started panicking. I could feel my heart racing.
I started panicking because I just...I just felt like something was gonna happen.
"With that he [Owen Maughan] pulled beside us and I started screaming. Lovell said 'drive on, drive, drive on'. I said 'please'.
I said 'just drive on.
"I don't know what speed he was doing but I know it was fast. I said 'slow down' and 'you're gonna kill us, slow down.' "When we slowed down they came up against us again so I started texting my mum and I started telling her.
I don't remember what I said." Hayley could not say in minutes how long the chase lasted but that it seemed like "a never-ending road". She continued: "I was panicking so bad, I was so scared.
It's not normal. I knew they were gonna do something.
"I said 'They're coming, they're gonna hit us, they're gonna hit us. He [Lovell] looked at me and said 'I'm scared'.
I said 'I'm scared too'." Having realised Owen Maughan's father was also in the truck, Hayley said: "His face was really, really, really red. It was like a volcano, just like ready to explode.
"I said 'They've got us, they've got us, they'll hit us'. As I've said that, they hit us in the back."
Asked by police about seatbelts, Hayley said she did not have hers on and although the children had been strapped in when they drove out that evening, Peter had a habit of undoing his or putting it behind his back. Explaining she had not double-checked because of her panic, she added: "Maybe if I'd checked he would have been alive but I never.
"I was so scared I didn't think about it.
I just thought 'get home, I'm safe at home, get home'." Hayley was also asked why she had recorded the chase and messaged her mum. She told police: "Because I was in fear for my life.
I wanted them to ring the police. "They kept following us when my husband drove on to get away. A mother's instinct.
Your children are in the car and you think we're gonna be in a car crash. We were not getting away, we're stuck. "We're in this situation.
Whether you slow down, they're gonna get us. Whether we drive fast, we're gonna be in the car, we're gonna be in a car accident. So where do you win?"
About the exchange through the truck windows at the roundabout, Hayley said her husband had "verified" to Owen and Patrick Maughan that children were present.
The court heard that following the collision at 9.26pm, the Maughans drove off up New Barn Road with one of the children's pushchairs that had fallen from the damaged Ranger stuck under their chassis. They paused in Longfield for Patrick Maughan to get out and remove the registration plate before driving on past their home and onto Hextable where the truck, still with the buggy trapped underneath, was abandoned. Meanwhile, Hayley Maughan, having lifted her daughter from the wreckage and found her son's body, tried to resuscitate him before a passing Tesla driver, alerted by her screams for help, stopped.
He then drove the mum and youngsters to nearby Darent Valley Hospital, where Peter was pronounced dead just after 10pm. A passenger from the Tesla stayed at the scene to look for Lovell Mahon, the court heard. Hayley Maughan told police she could not think of any reason Owen Maughan would have rammed their vehicle.
She said there was no feud and her husband did not know either Owen or Patrick Maughan. The mum was re-interviewed by police in September last year. When asked why she thought the collision had been deliberate, she said: "Because they chased us.
They had enough time to think about it if they didn't wanna do it or not. "I knew something was going to happen because if they chased us along the road and we're trying to get away as fast as we can, if we didn't crash ourselves, they were gonna hit us. "You don't chase a baby when they're running because you know they are gonna fall.
It's not an accident, it's deliberate." She continued: "We were in fear for our lives. We begged them, we told them that, it's on video camera....We told them that the children were in the motor.
"It wasn't an accident. They knew what they were doing. They had enough time to think.
They chased us from, I think it was Cobham, Shorne." 'We told them that the children were in the motor...' Hayley added that at one point she feared their vehicle would tip over but also had a "gut feeling" they would be hit by the second Ranger.
She also told police that during the encounter on the slip road exit, Patrick Maughan was screaming and making hand gestures while Owen could be seen to literally bite his tongue in anger. "I think Francis revved it up. I think Francis made this situation 10 times worse than what it was," Hayley explained.
"Francis knew his son was upset. So, if he knew he was gonna do something, why didn't he get out [of their vehicle]? Why didn't he take the key out of the motor when that vehicle was stopped?
Why didn't he do something? "Francis should have taken the key. He should have got out of the motor.
He should have tried to stop his son." During cross-examination in court today, Hayley Maughan was asked about her husband's demeanour in the exchange through the vehicle windows when he shouted at the Maughans, calling them "f***ing dossers". Asked by Tyrone Smith KC, on behalf of Owen Maughan, whether Lovell Mahon was being aggressive, she replied: "He was trying to protect his family."
The court also heard that the rear windows to Lovell's Wildtrak were tinted. But during cross-examination by Charles Langley KC, defending Patrick Maughan, Hayley Maughan said: "They would have seen the kids and they were also told the kids were in the car." Truck used 'as a weapon' in crash that killed four-year-old boy[1]
Mum feared driver 'wouldn't stop' before hit-and-run that killed son, 4[2] As well as both denying murder, Patrick Maughan also denies manslaughter, causing Peter's death by dangerous driving and three offences in respect of Mr Mahon, namely causing GBH with intent, inflicting GBH and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Maughan Snr also denies two offences of causing GBH with intent in relation to Annarica and Hayley Maughan.
Owen Maughan also denies causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent to Lovell Mahon, as well as two offences of attempting to cause GBH with intent in respect of Annarica Maughan and Hayley Maughan.
He has, however, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and inflicting GBH in respect of Lovell Mahon.
The trial continues.
References
- ^ Truck used 'as a weapon' in crash that killed four-year-old boy (www.kentonline.co.uk)
- ^ Mum feared driver 'wouldn't stop' before hit-and-run that killed son, 4 (www.kentonline.co.uk)