Thief who stole vehicle involved in fatal crash near Northallerton jailed

A burglar who stole a vehicle that was involved in a ‘horrific’ crash that killed a man has been jailed.

Paul Robert Barnes, 33, of Yarm, and another offender broke into a property in a village near Northallerton in July 2021 and stole a Polaris off-road vehicle.

The pair took of with the vehicle, with Barnes a passenger, and a 17-year-old driving.

They crossed the A19 at a junction near Thimbleby when they were hit by a van travelling along the A19. Barnes managed to jump from the vehicle.

The boy driving the stolen vehicle was thrown from it, before being hit by another car. He died from his injuries.

Barnes was arrested and taken to hospital with minor injuries. Officers searched him and found a large number of class-C opioid drugs.

Barnes pleaded guilty to burglary, aggravated TWOC (taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent) resulting in death and drug possession.

Sergeant Marie Williams from North Yorkshire Police said: “This was a horrific incident in which one driver lost his life and two others will always have to live with what happened.

“There are no winners from an investigation like this. But it’s right that Barnes has been brought to justice and sentenced by the courts today.”

He was sentenced to four years in prison and disqualified from driving for a minimum of 37 months.

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