Layton Darwood: Disqualified driver jailed for six years for running over Newcastle boy
A banned driver has been jailed for six years for running over and killing a five-year-old boy in Newcastle.
Groundworker Darren Jacques had parked his flatbed truck up and gone inside the shop where Layton Darwood and friends had been buying treats on 24 August 2020.
On leaving the shop in Fenham, the schoolboy climbed onto the vehicle, which was pulling a trailer.
But as Jacques pulled away, Layton fell beneath the trailer and suffered fatal injuries. He later died in hospital.
Jacques, of Hutton Hill, Penrith, Cumbria, was found guilty of causing death by driving while disqualified following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in September.
The 42-year-old appeared at the same court on Monday 4 December where he was sentenced to six years in prison. He was also given a six-year driving ban.
During the trial, the court heard Layton had been with three other children on the day of the incident and they had gone to a nearby shop to buy sweets and supplies for a picnic after the eldest of the group was given a bank card.
The jury was shown CCTV footage of Jacques leaving the shop and jogging past Layton and the other children as he went back to his van.
However, while the defendant's vehicle was stationary, and before driving off, Layton climbed onto the trailer and on the vehicle.
As Jacques began to move away, Layton fell to the ground and the wheels of the trailer rolled over him, causing fatal injuries.
The trial had heard that Layton may have got his shoelaces caught before falling under the wheels.
Giving evidence during the trial, Sergeant Alan Keenleyside, a Forensic Collision Investigator for Northumbria Police, told the jury it was his opinion that Jacques was aware the children were there and that he should have taken "greater care" when moving away.
When police arrived, Jacques gave a false name and false details about his date of birth and address.
He later admitted his real name, saying he "panicked".
A statement issued previously by Layton’s mother Stephany, on behalf of the family, read: “We are devastated by what happened and miss Layton beyond words. He was a loving, happy little boy with his whole life ahead of him and our worst nightmare came true the day we lost him."
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