A court heard Dean Barnes, 16, who was riding as a pillion passenger on a stolen bike, died in a crash while Callum Duncan chased burglars in the early hours of January 24, 2023
A teenager who was riding on a stolen motorbike died when it crashed as the driver tried to escape from a burglary victim who was chasing them, a court has heard.
Callum Duncan, 28, stored three motorbikes in a shed at his home in Reddish, Stockport, Greater Manchester. In the early hours of January 24, 2023, three burglars broke into his shed, Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester heard.
The home owner was woken by the noise and began chasing the trio as they fled on the stolen bikes. As Mr Duncan pursued them, Dean Barnes, 16, who was riding as a pillion passenger on one of the stolen bikes, died in a crash.
Mr Duncan and Adam Norman, 36, who was driving the stolen bike which Barnes was riding on, are both on trial accused of causing death by dangerous driving. They both deny the offence. Norman and another man, Alexander Riley, 21, have both admitted burglary.
Prosecuting, Phil Barnes said there was “no room for doubt” that Dean Barnes was the third burglar. Mr Barnes said: “It would be wrong of any of us to presume Dean Barnes was an angel.” The prosecutor said the origin of the case was a crime which would “cost him his life.”
Jurors were told that Barnes, Norman and Riley went out in the early hours to commit a burglary at a house in Harewood Grove, Reddish. The court heard the trio were aware that bikes were stored in a shed after seeing one for sale on Facebook Marketplace – and someone had allegedly gone to look at the area before the burglary.
At about 6.30am that morning, the burglars used drill and bolt croppers to break into the shed. The court heard Barnes took a small Yamaha PW50, commonly known as a “Pee Wee”, while Riley rode a larger Kawasaki and Norman took the largest bike, a white and black Husqvarna.
Mr Barnes said the Husqvarna belonged to Mr Duncan, and the two other bikes belonged to his family and friends. After hearing the break-in, Mr Duncan began chasing the burglars in his Golf GTI. Jurors heard that as they realised they were being chased, Barnes left the “Pee Wee” behind and got on the back of the Husqvarna with Norman. Riley fled down Wharfdale Road.
Mr Duncan was travelling at up to 36mph in a 20mph zone and was seen to “bounce” over speed bumps, the court heard. He was closing the gap on the bike being driven by Norman. Riley turned right onto Gorton Road. Mr Barnes said that Norman instead tried to ride straight, across two lanes of traffic, onto Ainsdale Grove, a residential road opposite, the Manchester Evening News reports.
“Sadly for Dean Barnes, Adam Norman didn’t make it,” Mr Barnes said. The prosecutor said a female driver “doing absolutely nothing wrong” came along Gorton Road from the left. Norman clipped the woman’s car, and both men fell from the bike. Mr Barnes said Norman was “lucky” and was able to walk away from the crash. However, Barnes fell and hit a parked car, and was killed “instantly”.
Prosecutors claimed Mr Duncan must have seen the crash happen, but said he did not go to Barnes’ aid. His car did not collide with the bike being driven by Norman. Mr Barnes said Mr Duncan took the Husqvarna bike from the scene and brought it to his mother’s house nearby.
The “Pee Wee” bike was later also returned to his possession, the court heard. Mr Barnes said Mr Duncan only called the emergency services almost four hours later. He then said he had “only just realised how bad it was”. After being arrested shortly after, Mr Duncan replied “no comment” to most questions, but added: “I wasn’t driving dangerously, didn’t do nothing to cause the crash.”
Norman went into “hiding” after the crash and was only arrested on June 23, 2023, jurors heard. He replied “no comment” to questions in his police interview. Mr Barnes said of Norman: “In his desperation to get away from the crime he had just committed, he rode that already dangerous bike at a speed which was completely excessive for the road conditions, paying no heed to other traffic, failing to give way at the junction and barrelling through blindly in the vain hope that he would make it to the other side.”
Mr Barnes said of Mr Duncan: “It is no defence, we will say to you, for Callum Duncan to plead that he was entitled to drive however he liked in an effort to recover his stolen property. He still owed a duty to all the other road users around him, including those men on his bike. The standard of driving to which he must be held to account does not change because of the circumstances he was in.”
Norman, of no fixed abode but from Brinnington, Stockport, and Mr Duncan, of Salisbury Street in Reddish, both deny causing death by dangerous driving. Norman and Riley, of Blackberry Lane in Brinnington, Stockport, who is not on trial, have pleaded guilty to burglary, the jury was told.