Clowne: Man ‘tried to kill eight after being beaten up’, jury told
Clowne: Man 'tried to kill eight after being beaten up', jury told BBC.com
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A man repeatedly drove into a group of people outside of a pub after being beaten up in a fight, a court has heard.
Jurors heard Jake Wallis was behind the wheel of a van that hit eight outside the Nags Head pub in Clowne on 4 June.
A woman was critically injured and two men suffered broken bones in a series of collisions, the court was told.
Mr Wallis, 28, of Orchard Rise, Cocking Lane, Treswell, denies eight counts of attempted murder.
Andrew Peet, prosecuting at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday, said it was “sheer good luck” that no one was killed.
Jurors heard that he was beaten up by a number of other men in the early hours of 4 June.
Mr Peet said the defendant walked to his van in a nearby car park after being “embarrassed” in the fight.
The court was shown CCTV footage of the van speeding out of the car park, narrowly missing an oncoming vehicle before taking the apex of a corner “like Michael Schumacher”.
Mr Wallis then drove into the group of people for the first time.
“He did it deliberately, he did it intending to kill those he was intending to hit,” Mr Peet said.
The prosecution said the van then drove “at full pelt” at two men, one of which was carried on the bonnet of the van for several metres.
Seconds later, Willis again made his way towards the group before swerving back onto the road, only to go round a roundabout and target them again.
Mr Peet said it was “miraculous” that no one was struck.
However, the van reversed at speed towards the group, dragging two women underneath the vehicle.
One of the women was taken to hospital with severe injuries, including multiple fractures and punctured lungs.
After the final collision, Mr Wallis fled his vehicle, running away from the group, but he was tripped and knocked unconscious.
The jury was told that the defendant has already pleaded guilty to the lesser offences of two counts of GBH with intent, two counts of causing GBH by dangerous driving and four counts of attempted GBH.
The pleas were not accepted by the prosecution, who claimed the evidence justifies the more serious charges of attempted murder.
Mr Wallis has also been charged with two counts of GBH as alternative charges to the two counts of attempted murder relating to the women trapped under the car.
The trial continues.
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By Will Jefford
BBC News, East Midlands
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‘Intending to kill’
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