Friends accused of causing death of woman were driving erratically, court hears
One witness, who saw the group seconds before the fatal collision, said their driving was ‘dangerous and stupid’.
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Four friends accused of causing the death of a 20-year-old woman by dangerous driving were driving like “dickheads” on the night of the collision that killed her, one passenger has told a court.
Kieran Baldock was a passenger in the second of four vehicles travelling behind one another prior to the collision that killed Denii Reynolds.
Ms Reynolds was a passenger in the lead vehicle, a Citroen C1 driven by her partner, Keelan Tuke, and died as a result of “catastrophic injuries” when it collided with a vehicle coming the opposite way on the A16 in Utterby, Lincolnshire, on October 26 2021.
The drivers of the four cars – Tuke, Josh Dobb, Keigan Launder and Riley Duncombe – are standing trial at Lincoln Crown Court charged with causing Ms Reynolds’ death by dangerous driving, and causing serious injury to the driver of the other car involved in the collision by the same means.
Giving evidence from behind a screen on Wednesday, Mr Baldock said that he met with the defendants and other friends at the Cleethorpes Boating Lake on the night of the incident before travelling to Louth in Dobb’s Ford Fiesta van.
He was asked by prosecutor Jeremy Janes: “How would you describe the manner in which you first leave the boating lake?”
At one point, I looked down at the speedometer and it was at 100mph
Mr Baldock replied: “Absolutely fine.”
Mr Janes asked: “At any point, did that change?”
Mr Baldock replied: “Yes. It started to get erratic, overtaking and speeding.”
Mr Janes asked: “When you say speeding, what do you mean?”
Mr Baldock replied: “At one point, I looked down at the speedometer and it was at 100mph.”
Mr Janes later asked: “If you had to put a word on the manner of the driving of the four defendants, what would it be?”
Mr Baldock said: “Dickheads.”
Mr Baldock told the jury of 10 men and two women that the group’s driving was “erratic” on the journey from Cleethorpes to Louth, with Mr Janes previously telling the court that the group were seen to be “pratting about” once they reached the town.
It seemed like there was no care at all for anyone else that was around
Giving his evidence, witness Adam Knowles, who saw the group at a service station in Louth prior to the crash, said their driving was “absolutely appalling”.
He also claimed that Tuke’s car was chased by the others around a car park, “like a cat chasing a mouse” before the group drove off.
He said: “It seemed like there was no care at all for anyone else that was around.”
The fatal collision occurred on the return journey to Cleethorpes in a 50mph zone when 21-year-old Tuke’s Citroen collided with a Vauxhall Corsa driven by a pensioner, Margaret Williams.
Mr Janes had earlier told the jury that analysis had estimated Tuke’s speed to be between 75 and 98mph.
Dobb’s van was estimated to be travelling between 89 and 98mph, although Mr Baldock said that he did not perceive Dobb’s driving to be erratic in the moments before the crash.
Mr Baldock said: “Keelan’s brake lights came on around 50 feet before the sign for Utterby, then his back left wheel hit the grass verge.
“He started drifting, he tried to correct it, [then] over-correct it, and, yeah.”
Dobb, 21, Launder, 23, and Duncombe, 19, all stayed at the scene of the crash and called the emergency services following the incident at around 9:45pm, while Tuke was injured in the collision, Mr Baldock said.
Bradley Lockheed, whose dashcam footage was shown to the jury, said the group was travelling at “super high speeds” which was “dangerous and stupid”.
It was like they were racing each other
When asked to clarify “super”, Mr Lockheed said: “I would say at least 100 miles per hour.
“It was like they were racing each other.”
Tuke, of Grafton Street, Grimsby; Duncombe, of Thesiger Walk, Grimsby; Launder, of Louth Road, Grimsby; and Dobb, of Hadleigh Road, Immingham, all deny the charges.
The trial continues.