An angry driver who killed a teenage boy after chasing him in a traffic accident in Birmingham has been sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison.
Paul Biggs from Essex and his co-driver Dale Sharpen from London used the “car as a weapon” to knock Liam Mooney, 16, off the moped he was passenger on, a judge ruled, BirminghamLive reports.
The couple then sped off, leaving the teenager on the street with “catastrophic” injuries.
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Biggs and Sharpen then tried to cover their tracks by getting rid of their phones and disposing of the car.
Biggs, 26, of Hutton Drive, Brentwood, Essex, and Dale Sharpen, 31, of Vicarage Road, Woodford Green, northeast London, had previously denied a murder charge.
Yesterday (January 5), they both admitted the manslaughter of Liam, which was accepted by prosecutors. Both also admitted attacking the 18-year-old who was driving the moped.
Biggs was also banned from driving for twelve and a half years, while Sharpen, a passenger in the car, was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Prosecutor Adrian Keeling QC said Liam and the 18-year-old moped driver met with two others on the evening of March 22nd last year and rode two mopeds for “fun”.
Flowers and tributes at the crime scene on Rocky Lane in Perry Barr
(Image: Nick Wilkinson)
Around 7 p.m. they reached a roundabout on Rocky Lane in Birmingham. Biggs’ Volvo then drove to the roundabout and braked, which broke the second moped and swerved around it.
As they passed on the bike, 16-year-old Liam was “pushed out” in the direction of the passenger window of the car.
“The Volvo made a conscious decision to follow the bike down Rocky Lane at some speed instead of stopping,” said Keeling.
He said when the car chased the bike, Sharpen had his arm out the window and was yelling at the two teenagers.
The driver of the moped “was afraid that the Volvo might hit the back of the bike or come alongside and knock her off the road”.
He said: “He made the decision to try to get out of the car by going up a curb, but the Volvo hit the back of the bike and that caused him to lose control.
“He turned left and crashed into a stationary car.
“The defendants must have known what happened, but then ran away.”
Flowers and tributes are on display at the crime scene on Rocky Lane in Perry Barr. leave behind
(Image: Nick Wilkinson)
Mr Keeling said the two on the other moped returned to the scene and found Liam unconscious and fatally injured. He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but nothing could be done to save him.
The 16-year-old sustained injuries including a broken skull and a fracture of the spine.
Mr Keeling said Biggs drove “aggressively and intimidatingly” and Sharpen encouraged him.
He said in court: “It was a joint attack by the driver and passenger.”
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In a statement, the victim’s mother, Laura Brown, said: “On March 23, our lives were forever changed when our beloved son was taken away from us.
“He was only 16 and had his whole life ahead of him.
“He had a smile and a personality that was contagious, and he lit up every room he walked in.”
Biggs QC Ian Henderson said, “There was clearly an incident at the roundabout. It came out of nowhere. These things happen a lot.
“These events took place over a short distance and over a short period of time.
“He sincerely regrets his actions.”
While Michael Ivers QC for Sharpen said, “It wasn’t a situation where he chose to harm others.
“It took 20 to 30 seconds from the knocking off of the exterior mirror to the impact.
“It was very spontaneous and without any planning.”
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