Teenager guilty of Sheldon Lewcock's manslaughter after 'feud' led to head-on crash

A teenager has been found guilty of manslaughter after another teenager was killed in a crash involving a van and an electric bike.

Sheldon Lewcock, 19, died following a collision on Pierces Hill in Tilehurst, Reading on August 4, 2022.

There were emotional scenes at Reading Crown Court as a jury found 19-year-old Ryan Willicombe guilty of Mr Lewcock's manslaughter following a two-week trial.

Willicombe, from Newbury, had previously admitted causing death by dangerous driving but denied murder and manslaughter.

Angela Lewcock, Mr Lewcock's mother, said: "He was a big part of our family, he was funny, outgoing, a little bit cheeky, a typical teenage boy, but he was our boy and we loved him.

"It's not going to be the same ever now. My son, he didn't deserve any of this."

Willicombe said he had been harassed by a gang of motorcyclists prior to the collision.

He insisted that he only wanted to "scare" the group when he drove his van at them on Pierces Hill, and did not intend to harm them.

• Sheldon's mother, Angela Lewcock, gave her reaction to the verdict outside court

The prosecution alleged the collision was a culmination of a feud between Willicombe and Mr Lewcock’s half-brother Kayden Williams.

After clipping Kayden Williams with the van's wing mirror, Willicombe hit Mr Lewcock, who was riding an electric bike, head on, catapulting him 30 to 40 feet.

As Mr Lewcock lay on the ground, injured and bleeding, he asked a friend to contact his mother and tell her what had happened.

Following the crash, Willicombe did not stop. Instead, he drove to a nearby Co-op, where he abandoned the van and fled to his grandfather’s house in South Wales.

Police later found the teenager hiding in a cupboard at the property and arrested him.

Mr Lewcock died at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on August 9, 2022, five days after the collision.

He had suffered catastrophic injuries including fractures to his pelvis, limbs and thigh bones.

Giving evidence at the trial, forensic pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl said Mr Lewcock likely died of multiple organ failure due to fat embolism, a condition which results when fat from broken bones seeps into the bloodstream.

As well as being found not guilty of murder, Ryan Willicombe was also found not guilty of the attempted grievous bodily harm of Kayden Williams.

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