Dashcam footage shows driver tailgating car at 60mph before fatal crash kills boy, 4

Owen Maughan, 27, and Patrick Maughan, 54, were sentenced for the manslaughter of Peter Maughan after dashcam footage captured the deliberate ramming that also paralysed the boy's father

Kelly Williams-LE, Kirstie McCrum Deputy Head of News, Live News Network and Kelly Williams 11:29, 26 Mar 2026

This is the disturbing moment an "angry" driver and his passenger killed a four-year-old boy and left his father paralysed following a deliberate ramming attack[1]. Driver Owen Maughan, 27, alongside his father and front-seat passenger Patrick Maughan, 54, received sentences exceeding 12 years and 18 years respectively on Wednesday for the manslaughter of Peter Maughan.

The pair, from Hill Rise in Darenth, Kent, were additionally sentenced[2] for causing grievous bodily harm to Peter's father, Lovell Mahon, who was behind the wheel of the family vehicle and sustained severe injuries including a fractured skull and permanent paralysis.

Dashcam footage released following sentencing reveals Owen driving aggressively at 60mph while tailgating the family's car.

He intentionally collided with the victims' vehicle, causing it to overturn, reports the Daily Star[3].

Young Peter was ejected from the pick-up truck and tragically died from "severe and devastating injuries" to his head, chest and abdomen on 1st June last year in New Barn Road, Dartford, Kent. Passing sentence at Maidstone Crown Court, Judge Oliver Saxby KC stated that lives had been "irretrievably shattered by what you did" through "selfish" rage.

Patrick Maughan(Image: Kent Police )

Addressing Owen Maughan directly, he stated: "You were angry he had not stopped and wanted to teach him a lesson. This was no 'nudge' as you claimed in evidence."

"You were never going to stop, you didn't care what happened to Lovell Mahon and his family. 'We don't give a f***', as you had put it." CCTV footage subsequently captured Patrick removing the number plate from their vehicle.

The abandoned Ford Ranger was later retrieved in Hextable, displaying substantial front-end damage with a child's pushchair lodged beneath it.

Following last month's trial, the pair were acquitted of murder. Owen Maughan had previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Peter, who was his cousin's son, while the jury determined Patrick Maughan was guilty of manslaughter.

The court heard that earlier that day, the pair had been drinking in Rochester, downing approximately 12 bottles of beer and 13 pints respectively, before getting behind the wheel of their Ford Ranger pick-up truck to drive home.

They came across a similar vehicle and drew alongside it, sparking a verbal altercation between the two cars, with Owen and Patrick Maughan "terrorising" and "chasing" the other vehicle along the A2 in Kent for several miles.

As he approached a blind bend, Owen Maughan swerved into the wrong lane and struck the Ford pick-up truck at roughly 60mph, causing the vehicle to flip over three times, the court was told.

(Image: Kent Police )

Peter was travelling in the rear of the car alongside his one-year-old sister Annarica Mahon, while their mother Hayley, Owen Maughan's cousin, sat in the front passenger seat beside Mr Mahon. Ms Maughan spotted Peter lying face down in the grass and cried out for help, the trial heard.

She told police officers that the family had been on their way home "happy, laughing, joking" after a trip to McDonald's, and were driving around to help the children fall asleep when the collision happened.

In a victim impact statement delivered to the court on Wednesday, Ms Maughan described how the family had enjoyed the "best life" before the incident, but are now a family "surviving, not living".

She spoke of Peter as her "other half", always by her side, and a "happy boy".

(Image: Kent Police )

"His favourite place in the world was school, he was very popular at school," the 24 year old said.

"Peter didn't get to start his life.

He didn't get to go to school on a school trip. He didn't even get to learn to read. Peter made me who I was, I had him when I was 18 and now he's gone I'm nothing."

She disclosed that on the day of the "horror", Peter's packed lunch for school the following day was prepared in the fridge and his shoes were positioned by the door.

Addressing Owen and Patrick Maughan directly, her statement said: "Those responsible have left our family broken", before adding: "You've taken away my baby."

During his evidence at the trial, Owen Maughan informed the jury he was unaware there were children in the other vehicle, however on Wednesday Judge Saxby stated he had told numerous lies in his testimony and added: "He had."

Owen Maughan also maintained he believed he and Mr Mahon were going to fight following an argument between the cars, and he decided to "nudge" or dent the side of Mr Mahon's car so he would stop and get out.

After the crash, Owen and Patrick Maughan fled the scene, stopping only for Patrick Maughan to remove the registration plate from the lorry.

The court heard that Mr Mahon and Owen Maughan were strangers, with the latter having no connection to his cousin Hayley. A statement[4] from Mr Mahon read out in court detailed the daily struggle of living without his son and being confined to a wheelchair.

The pair had been boozing in the lead up to the incident

"Life will never be the same," he expressed. "The death of Peter has broken me, he was too good for this world. When I found out he was gone words can't even describe it.

I can't even get to see Peter at his grave because of the bumps."

He described his recovery process as a "full-time job", while Ms Maughan disclosed that since that "horrible" day, she had become a full-time carer. In her statement, she revealed that Mr Mahon now suffers from severe anxiety and paranoia, including distress when someone drives too close to them.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Rachel Elmore commented: 'This was a devastating and entirely avoidable tragedy. An innocent young child lost his life, a father has been left unable to walk again, and a mother now faces the unimaginable task of rebuilding her family while carrying her grief.

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"Their lives have been irreversibly changed by the deliberate and dangerous actions of these two men.

No sentence can ever undo the pain they have caused.

"Yet despite everything, the victims and their family have shown extraordinary courage and resilience throughout this trial.

"I hope these sentences brings some measure of justice for them and offer a small degree of comfort to Peter's loved ones."

References

1. ^ attack (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^ sentenced (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
3. ^ the Daily Star (www.dailystar.co.uk)
4. ^ statement (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
5. ^ Click here to activate (www.google.com)