Driver who killed four-year-old after 'ramming' car following drinking session cleared of murder

A man who killed his cousin's four-year-old son after hitting their pick-up truck has been found not guilty of murder.

Owen Maughan, 27, had previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the child, Peter Maughan, on 1 June last year following the collision on New Barn Road in Dartford in Kent.

The defendant's father Patrick, 54, who was in the vehicle with his son, was found guilty of manslaughter in the trial at Maidstone Crown Court, but was also cleared of murder.

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The jury heard the pair were "in a fury" as they pursued a Ford pick-up truck for several miles down the A2 in Kent.

They had been drinking heavily earlier in the day.

Owen Maughan drove into the wrong lane and clipped the rear of the pick-up at about 60mph, causing it to roll over multiple times, the court heard.

Prosecutor Richard Jory KC had told the jury the action was "a deliberate ramming at high speed", and that Owen Maughan had "used his car as a weapon to ram the other vehicle off the road".

Peter Maughan was in the back of the truck with his one-year-old sister Annarica, while their mother Hayley, Owen Maughan's cousin, was in the front passenger seat. Her partner, Lovell Mahon, was driving.

Peter was thrown from the vehicle, and suffered "severe and devastating injuries" to his head, chest and abdomen, while Mr Mahon sustained injuries including a fractured skull and is unlikely to ever walk again.

Owen Maughan also previously pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Mahon. The jury found Patrick Maughan was also guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Jurors were told Maughan and his father had been drinking in Rochester earlier that day, consuming about 12 bottles of beer and 13 pints respectively, before they began driving their pick-up truck home.

Hayley Maughan filmed video clips of the two men following them, leaving a voice note for her mother Erica in which she said she was afraid.

In his evidence, Owen Maughan said he did not know there were children in the other car, and "couldn't believe" what he was seeing when the vehicle flipped over.

He denied trying to cause serious injury.

Owen Maughan told jurors he thought he and Mr Mahon were going to fight after arguing back and forth between the cars, and he decided to dent the side of his car so he would stop and get out.

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The incident began when he and his father noticed a similar vehicle to theirs, and wondered if the driver may also be from the traveller community, he said.

But, after pulling up alongside, Mr Mahon was "aggressive and pointing at me", and Maughan said he got "pretty pissed off with it", so he started "following him just to try and annoy him".

After the crash, Owen and Patrick Maughan drove off, pausing while the older man removed the truck's registration plate, which Owen said was done in a "panic".

The pair will be sentenced at a later date.

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