Murder accused Owen Maughan gives evidence in his trial over death of four-year-old Peter Maughan in Southfleet
A driver accused of murdering four-year-old Peter Maughan in a high-speed hit-and-run told a jury today that he did not know any children were in the vehicle when he rammed into it. Visibly upset and at times crying, Owen Maughan, who is on trial with his father Patrick over the death of the youngster, said he never intended fatal or serious consequences in the collision that occurred on New Barn Road in Southfleet on the evening of June 1 last year.
The 27-year-old married dad-of-three tailed the Ford Ranger Wildtrak driven by Peter's dad Lovell Mahon for several minutes along the A2 Londonbound after drinking beers for several hours in the pub with his dad. He explained how he followed Mr Mahon's vehicle to the Pepperhill exit at Northfleet in an attempt to "annoy" him, he then "nudged" the truck with his own Wildtrak.
Giving evidence all day at Maidstone Crown Court, the murder accused said his intention was for Mr Mahon to stop and get out so they could have a fist fight, not to cause anyone serious harm. He repeatedly maintained he had never seen any youngsters in the truck or heard the words "children in this motor" being shouted by Mr Mahon just a few seconds prior to the ramming. Jurors were told that both 4x4s were travelling at approximately 60mph on a 40mph stretch of the road at the time of impact, which resulted in Mr Mahon losing control of his vehicle as it began to rotate and then rolling up to three times.
Peter, who had been sitting in the rear, was thrown out and suffered severe and devastating head, chest and abdomen injuries.
The court heard he was pronounced dead at nearby Darent Valley Hospital 30 minutes after the smash but would not have survived even with immediate medical care.
Some of his injuries bore markings said to have "characteristics reminiscent of being run over or from roll over". The little boy's dad, then 24, was also ejected from the Ranger. He sustained multiple fractures and brain trauma, leaving him paralysed and unlikely to be able to walk again.
Peter's mum, Hayley Maughan, and one-year-old sister Annarica were also in the vehicle but escaped with minor injuries. It is the prosecution's case that by the time of the collision, the defendants were, for reasons that remain unclear, "in a fury". Owen Maughan is alleged to have used his truck "as a weapon" while being "actively encouraged" by 54-year-old Patrick.
Just seconds before the ramming, the court heard a threat to do so had been made by Owen in a call to Hayley's brother, Jason Maughan, before he allegedly added: "We don't give a f***."
Picture: @HayleyMaughan/Facebook
But in his evidence, Owen Maughan refuted saying this, denied being in a rage and maintained his father had not been "revving up" the situation "like a volcano" as claimed. He also denied seeing Peter and his dad thrown from their vehicle "right in front of his eyes" or having run over the boy.
The court has heard, however, that one of the children's pushchairs became stuck under their chassis after it had fallen from the back of Mr Mahon's pickup and gave off sparks as the pair, of Hill Rise, Darenth, drove off from the scene. Having made their getaway, the jury was told they briefly stopped in Longfield for Patrick Maughan to get out and pull off the front number plate, before driving several miles to Plantation Road in Hextable where they abandoned their damaged Ranger.
Owen Maughan, who had drunk just under 12 bottles of Peroni while out with his dad in Rochester in the six hours prior to the smash, then fled to Manchester. It was after he learnt a "baby" had been killed that he returned to Kent and handed himself in to police the next day.
The court heard that when he hit Mr Mahon's truck to its rear offside, the defendants' Wildtrak was on the wrong side of the road and straddling the central dividing line of the single carriageway. He claimed he had pulled out when the vehicle in front had "brake tested" him - an assertion the prosecution later described as a "bare-faced lie".
Describing the moment of impact, he told the jury: "I noticed Lovell's car driving away. As he was driving away, I decided to nudge his car so he would stop and get out. "I was hoping he was just going to stop and get out of his car and we were going to have a fight."
Asked by his barrister Tyrone Smith KC if he had any idea that hitting the truck from that angle would have the consequences it did, Maughan replied: "I did not, no."
He then added: "I just thought it would put a dent in the side." He also told the jury he did not shunt it "full on" from the rear as he feared "a massive collision" with his own truck "ending up on top" of Mr Mahon's.
But he admitted he had not taken account of the speed they were both travelling. Asked by Mr Smith whether his father had encouraged him to ram the vehicle, Mr Maughan said: "He did not, no.
He told me to slow down. I ignored it [the advice]." The lawyer then asked the defendant, who is Hayley Maughan's cousin, to describe what happened once the vehicles had come into contact.
Owen Maughan told the jury: "I just remember as soon as I hit the car I saw it go over, I saw it roll over.
I couldn't believe what I had seen." He described what unfolded as happening "so fast" and said he did not see anything or anyone ejected from the truck. Asked why he did not stop at the scene of "devastation" or call 999 knowing it was a serious crash, he told the jury: "I made a cowardly decision to keep driving away.
"The only thing I thought about was just getting away."
During that journey to Hextable, the court heard he made a call lasting two minutes to a distant relative, telling him he had hit Mr Mahon's car and there had been "an accident".
Owen Maughan also told the jury that the decision to remove the registration plate was his, not his father's, and was made in a bid to evade police. "I was in a state of panic, shock. I just couldn't believe what was happening," he added.
He also denied knowing a pushchair was jammed under their vehicle. Once abandoning the Ford Ranger, the pair were captured on CCTV walking away, one behind the other but on opposite sides of the road.
"I was trying to separate myself from my dad," he explained to the court. "This was nothing to do with him. I had caused this.
"I didn't want him involved in any of this.
I was planning on getting out of Kent." He maintained he did not know at that time that anyone had died or that children were in the rammed truck but said he feared "repercussions" from the victims' family. Having headed to Manchester, Owen Maughan said it was in the early hours of June 2 that he learnt the crash had been fatal.
"I first found out, I was told, that Lovell had died. I then got a call to say it wasn't Lovell, it was the baby," he said in court. "Did you know there was even a baby in that vehicle?" asked Mr Smith.
Choking back tears, Owen Maughan simply replied: "No."
He then added: "I knew I had to go back and face the consequences." The court heard that following his arrest, he gave a 'no comment' interview. He told jurors he was "absolutely distraught" and was acting on legal advice by not answering questions.
Although he subsequently pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Peter Maughan, inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH) to Lovell Mahon, and causing serious injury to Mr Mahon by dangerous driving, he denies four offences. These are murder of Peter Maughan, causing GBH with intent to Mr Mahon and attempting to cause GBH with intent to both Hayley Maughan and Annarica Maughan.
Patrick Maughan faces eight charges - murder and manslaughter in respect of Peter, causing the youngster's death by dangerous driving, three offences in respect of Mr Mahon - namely causing GBH with intent, inflicting GBH and causing serious injury by dangerous driving - and two of attempting to cause GBH with intent to Hayley and Annarica. Before that fateful evening, Hayley and Owen Maughan's families - who were related by marriage - had not spoken for years.
Mr Mahon had also not met either of the defendants. The jury was told, however, that the parties came together on the A2 purely by chance while making their way home to their respective addresses. Mr Mahon, his wife and children had been to Pepe's restaurant in Maidstone while the defendants had been drinking since 2.30pm in the Jolly Knight pub and the City Wall wine bar in Rochester.
Owen Maughan, who has no previous convictions and is a builder by trade, said his decision to drive in spite of the amount of alcohol he had had was a "selfish" one. Patrick Maughan, described as an "excessive drinker and alcoholic", had drunk 13 pints in that time, and bought more alcohol when they stopped on their way home at a Chinese takeaway.
Owen Maughan told the court that once on the M2, having joined at Blue Bell Hill, he spotted a similar Ford Ranger ahead of him. But he said he did not know who the occupants were until they pulled up alongside and his dad told him it was Lovell Mahon at the wheel.
He then said that as he looked across, he saw Mr Mahon "waving his fist around, aggressive and pointing at me". Describing himself as "p***** off", Owen Maughan said he slowed down, pulled in behind the Ranger, which had tinted rear windows, and started following to "annoy" and "get on his nerves". Dashcam footage of the two vehicles as they continued along the A2 from Cobham was played in court and showed the trucks pulling up alongside each other with intermittent, heavy braking.
The jury has also seen clips that Hayley filmed on her phone of the pursuing pickup and the angry exchanges.
But while Owen Maughan agreed he and his dad were "arguing back and forth" with Mr Mahon, he said that they were "upset" rather than angry and that Mr Mahon "definitely looked like he wanted a fight". He also explained his reason for contacting Jason Maughan was so he could intervene by telling his sister to stop videoing them. He stated that if uploaded to social media - a common practice among the Travelling Community when involved in disputes - it would be "humiliating and disrespectful".
Having exited at the junction, the Rangers pulled up alongside each other. In footage filmed by Hayley, her husband could be heard yelling that his children were in the vehicle before adding: "I'll be at your place. Give me one minute.
We'll fight". But Owen Maughan told the jury he thought they would fight "there and then" and so, instead of heading home along Station Road he followed the other truck onto New Barn Road. Within a few seconds and approximately 320m up the road, the fatal crash occurred.
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] Mum describes panic moments before fatal crash in son's murder trial[3]
'I'm going to ram them': Court hears of phone call seconds before fatal crash[4] Footage of murder accused removing number plate from car used to kill boy shown in court[5] Gran tells of frantic WhatsApp messages before death crash[6]
Driver accused of murdering boy, 4, was 'on wrong side of road when he rammed car'[7] Moment murder accused arrested two days after four-year-old's death[8] During cross-examination, prosecutor Richard Jory KC told Owen Maughan that by ramming the 4x4 he had done "precisely" what he and his father had intended - to cause really serious injury to the occupants.
Referring to the alleged threat made to Jason Maughan, Mr Jory said: "You might regret all of this now, I'm sure you do. "But at the time, I suggest that's quite telling. You just didn't give a f***."
Owen Maughan simply replied: "No." Having accused the defendant of lying about Mr Mahon waving his fist and later brake-testing him on New Barn Road, Mr Jory continued: "By this time you were in a rage." "I was upset, yes," replied Maughan.
"You clearly wanted to run that vehicle off the road," added the barrister. "No," said the defendant.
"You wanted to cause the occupants really serious harm. In your fury, particularly at Lovell," said Mr Jory. "I did not.
No" replied Maughan. "It's just a lie that you thought he was going to pull in further up," he told the accused. "No.
I thought he was going to pull in." Having then described how Mr Mahon had accelerated up New Barn Road to almost 60mph, with Maughan doing the same but on the incorrect side, Mr Jory said: "You weren't going to let him go." Maughan answered: "I wanted him to stop."
"You deliberately drove your vehicle into that other vehicle, trying to cause serious injury," the barrister continued. "I didn't want to cause serious injury at all," the defendant replied. "In that moment you intended to cause the occupants, particularly Lovell, really serious injury," asserted Mr Jory, to which Maughan again replied: "I did not, no."
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)
- ^ Mum describes panic moments before fatal crash in son's murder trial (www.kentonline.co.uk)
- ^ 'I'm going to ram them': Court hears of phone call seconds before fatal crash (www.kentonline.co.uk)
- ^ Footage of murder accused removing number plate from car used to kill boy shown in court (www.kentonline.co.uk)
- ^ Gran tells of frantic WhatsApp messages before death crash (www.kentonline.co.uk)
- ^ Driver accused of murdering boy, 4, was 'on wrong side of road when he rammed car' (www.kentonline.co.uk)
- ^ Moment murder accused arrested two days after four-year-old's death (www.kentonline.co.uk)