Bishop Auckland death car 'driven dangerously'

Oct 14 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

A CAR which ploughed into a group of pedestrians, killing a young father and badly injuring his toddler son and a family friend, had been spotted being driven recklessly earlier the same afternoon, police revealed last night.

Witnesses had reported seeing a white Rover 45, registration W161 NEF, being driven “in a dangerous and reckless manner” in and around Shildon and Bishop Auckland, County Durham, earlier on Saturday afternoon.

The car was said to have sped away from the Asda supermarket in South Church Road, Bishop Auckland, after staff there confronted its occupants over the alleged theft of a case of beer.

It is then believed to have raced through a red traffic light and sped for a mile along the A688 bypass until the driver lost control at a traffic island shortly before 5pm.

The car left the road, hitting 26-year-old Bryan Hardwick, his two-year-old son Liam, who was in his pushchair, and family friend Dave Weatherburn, 40.

The driver and front seat passenger of the car ran off, leaving the two rear seat passengers badly injured and trapped in the Rover.

Mr Hardwick, of Walker Close, Bishop Auckland, who was waiting to cross the road with his toddler son, died later in Durham’s University Hospital.

His girlfriend Kayleigh Sanderson, 21, the mother of Liam and three-year-old daughter Brogan, described Mr Hardwick as “a devoted and loving dad who loved playing with his kids”. He had been returning from a walk collecting conkers with Mr Weatherburn, Liam and Brogan, and other friends, adults and children, when he was killed.

Liam was yesterday in the James Cook Memorial Hospital in Middlesbrough, in a “serious” condition, while Mr Weatherburn, 40, was in Darlington Memorial Hospital, also seriously injured.

Two back seat occupants of the car, a 22-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy, were also badly hurt in hospital. They had to be freed from the wreckage by fire crews.

Last night Det Insp Billy Hugill said: “Our inquiries lead us to believe that the Rover was being driven recklessly, not only in the moments leading up to the collision, but for some time before that.

“It is only a short distance between the Asda store and the scene of the collision, but we believe the Rover was being driven in a dangerous and erratic manner in Shildon and Bishop Auckland earlier in the afternoon. We would appeal for any members of the public who saw it, or who had to take evasive action to avoid it, to contact us.”

Bishop Auckland CID can be contacted on 0345 60 60 365, Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or the police accident investigation unit on (0191) 375-2159.

A local man, 26, was being held in custody at Bishop Auckland police station yesterday. A second man, 18, had been released on police bail pending further inquiries.