WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT: Jayden Kearns had been playing on his bike outside his home in Preston, Lancashire, when a neighbour in a minibus hit the four-year-old, an inquest heard
A father was heard screaming for his son as he was dragged beneath a neighbour’s minibus, an inquest heard.
Four-year-old Jayden Kearns had been playing on his bike outside his home in Preston, Lancashire, when the tragic accident occurred on March 26 last year. The person driving the minibus was the father of one of Jayden’s friends he had been playing with at the time.
Preston coroner’s court heard neighbour Chris Cleaver, who operates a school run service for children with special educational needs, returned home from work. Jayden’s grandmother Kathleen Yates who had been at the family home at the time said she recalled seeing Mr Cleaver turn onto the cul-de-sac, thinking “you k***head” as she thought he was going too fast.
Mr Cleaver initially pulled the Citroen minivan over to speak to his own children before promising to park and join the play. He checked his mirrors and set off before hearing a “loud crunching sound”, the inquest heard.
Another neighbour, Derek Winstanley, told the hearing he “could see little Jayden being dragged under the wheels”, LancsLive reports. Mr Cleaver then jumped out and picked up Jayden. “I knew straightaway that it was serious,” Mr Winstanley said. “It looked like the life had gone out of him.”
Neighbours ran out of their homes to help while Mr Cleaver sat at the side of the road crying and with his head in his hands. Jayden’s grandmother Kathleen Yates shouted to him: “What have you done to my grandson?” Jayden’s dad Iaran Kearns raced out of his home wearing only a towel, having been in the shower at the time of the crash, screaming: “My boy, my boy, help my boy.”
Medics rushed to the scene, where Jayden was given a blood transfusion before being taken to Royal Preston Hospital. The youngster suffered serious head and chest injuries and had also gone into cardiac arrest by the time they arrived at the hospital. Tragically, he was pronounced dead at 5.50pm after failing to respond to treatment. His cause of death was recorded as chest trauma.
Mr Cleaver was breathalysed and passed the roadside drug and alcohol test, as well as a field impairment and eyesight assessment. When interviewed under caution by police, he said he had checked his surroundings before setting off just seconds before the collision, but that his view was impacted by a wheelchair ramp inside the minibus.
Collision investigator PC Rachel Carbery explained that the vehicle had a “significant blind spot” which would have restricted Mr Cleaver’s view of Jayden. Police used a mannequin to reconstruct the collision as well as viewing footage of the crash caught on camera.
PC Carbery was asked if Mr Cleaver had entered the cul-de-sac “at excessive speed”. She said: “From the CCTV that shows him entering New Rough Hey he has travelled in there and in my opinion it wasn’t fast. It would be of the speed I would expect.” Dad-of-five Mr Cleaver, who no longer lives on the street, passed his driving test in 2012. He had worked for 247 Group Ltd, transporting children with special needs to and from their homes and Acorns Primary School in Preston.
A police investigation was carried out to see whether Mr Cleaver could be prosecuted for causing death by careless driving, but the case was dropped with no evidence an offence had been committed. Sergeant Matt Davidson said: “We would need to show his standard of driving fell below what would have been expected. From our investigation that was just not found to be the case.”
Mr Cleaver did not attend the inquest but his solicitor passed on his condolences to Jayden’s family. Jayden’s grandmother Kathleen Yates replied: “I’m sorry but we don’t want it.” Since Jayden’s death his parents and sister have not been able to return to their family home. Mrs Yates said the family’s “whole world has been ripped apart”. The inquest heard that Jayden was a fan of Paw Patrol and Spiderman. He was particularly close to his grandma who said: “He was amazing; a nanna’s boy.”
