Driver who left passengers to burn to death found guilty

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South Yorkshire
Doncaster
Monday 21 March 2016 at 8:20pm

A man from Doncaster who left his passengers inside a burning car after a crash has been found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

22-year-old James Maughan was driving at more than twice the speed limit when he lost control and crashed into a garden wall in Branton last August.

Emergency services found two people, Liam Aldred, 26, and Dean McIntyre, 27, dead inside the car.

Both Liam Aldred and Dean McIntyre were found burnt to death Credit: Family Photos

Two other males, aged 16 and 21, were also still inside and suffered burns, but survived.

The court heard that Maughan had been driving the Megane along Doncaster Road in convoy with a Volkswagen Passat.

The cars were driven dangerously at around 70 miles-per-hour along the road, which has a 30 miles-per-hour limit. Both cars were seen on CCTV dangerously overtaking a car towing a caravan.

During the manoeuvre, the Passat collided with the Megane, which then hit a kerb and lost control, colliding with a central reservation and then a garden wall of a house in Poppyfields Way, coming to a rest on its roof and bursting into flames.

An investigation was launched to find Maughan and police soon discovered that he had fled to Swansea, South Wales, admitting himself to hospital under a different name, claiming his serious burns had been caused at a family barbeque.

Flowers were left at the scene of the crash Credit: ITV News

Maughan, of Marshland Road, Doncaster, was arrested while still at the hospital two days after the crash on 27 August.

He was charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of a road traffic collision, failing to report a road traffic collision, and causing intentional alarm, harassment or distress.

Following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court, a jury today found Maughan guilty of both counts of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He will be sentenced on Thursday.

Maughan had absolutely no regard for other drivers, pedestrians or those inside the car with him when he drove so dangerously on the day of the crash. He showed further disregard when he left his friends inside the car to burn. Despite conscious efforts to evade justice, South Yorkshire Police, in partnership with South Wales police and members of the community, has ensured Maughan is held to account for his actions. Maughan has never shown any remorse for what he did and, despite threats of extreme violence towards our police officers, we prosecuted him without fear or favour. The victims’ families finally have answers about what happened. No prison sentence can bring Liam and Dean back or undo the pain their families have been through, but I hope this will give them at least some comfort to allow them to begin to heal after so tragically losing two people who were dearly loved.