Victim's father in trial outburst

SHAHZAIB HUSSAIN

THE father of an 11-year old boy who died as the result of a hit and run crash early this year, lunged at the driver involved, as he finished giving evidence to a trial jury in Manchester.

Henry Barker (20), who pleads not guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, had just been accused of "not giving a damn" for innocent pedestrians when he drove a friend's Mercedes car at twice the 20mph speed limit on Moss Street West, Ashton, in February.

Barker, of Hampton Road, Failsworth, who drove off at speed after hitting Shahzaib Hussain, refused to accept he had been speeding, and claimed not to have been aware of how fast he was going.

Clearly overcome by emotion, Mr Hussain, who had sat with his wife by his side in the public seats at the hearing in Minshull Street Crown Court, shouted "liar" to him, then jumped to his feet as Barker walked in front of him as he returned to the dock from the witness box.

He was restrained by family and police officers sitting alongside, and was then led outside the courtroom until he had regained his composure.

The trial jury was told that Barker, who had admitted causing death by careless driving, had admitted driving dangerously after the incident on the afternoon of February 29 - but not before.

The court was told he had braked briefly after the collision, then accelerated away, going the wrong way on a mini roundabout, overtaking cars on the wrong side of the road and going through traffic lights on red. Barker claimed that before the collision he had not seen signs saying the area was a 20mph zone, and said he had not been aware of his speed because the year-old Mercedes A-class car was more powerful than anything he had ever driven, and he was not familiar with an automatic gearbox.

He accepted he had not checked the speedometer as he drove along the narrow, congested lane.

He denied suggestions from Michael Morley prosecuting, that he had been showing off to his three pals in the car with him.

Asked why he failed to stop after he hit Shahzaib, knocking him into the air, he said: "I didn't know what to do. Everyone was screaming at me to drive away. I was panicked and scared."

The court heard Barker handed himself in to police early the next day after a media appeal when news of the incident was reported.

He said in a statement: "I feel terrible about what happened. I can't even begin to think about how the boy's family must feel."

He said: "A kid ran out from my left hand side. There was nothing I could do to avoid a collision."

In court Mr Morley put it to him: "Did it not cross your mind to be much more attentive and careful on such a narrow street where pedestrians or other vehicles could suddenly emerge? Barker: "No."

Mr Morley: "You just didn't care that there were pedestrians in the area did you?" Barker: "That's not right. I was just not paying enough attention."

The court earlier heard that Barker's speed had been more than 40mph, and monitoring device in the Mercedes had recorded a speed of almost 46mph seconds before impact.

Mr Morley told the jury: "The question that you will be asked to decide in this case, is whether the manner in which the defendant was driving immediately before the collision was dangerous."

(Proceeding)