In a tragic incident, a five-year-old boy, Layton Darwood, who had been sent to purchase sweets for a family picnic, met with a devastating fate as he was crushed to death under the wheels of a van while bending down to tie his shoelaces.
The responsible party, disqualified driver Darren Jacques, aged 40, was found guilty of causing Layton’s death in Fenham, Newcastle, on August 24, 2020. Layton had been in the company of three other children and had gone to a nearby shop to buy supplies for their picnic, as one of the older children had access to a bank card.
CCTV footage depicted the sequence of events wherein Jacques parked his Ford Transit Tipper on a curb, entered a shop to acquire alcohol, and then hurriedly passed by Layton and the other children as he returned to his van. Tragically, as Jacques began to move his vehicle, Layton climbed onto the trailer attached to it. In a devastating turn of events, the young boy fell to the ground, and the trailer’s wheels rolled over him, resulting in fatal injuries. During the trial, it was suggested that Layton might have become entangled in his shoelaces, leading to his fall beneath the trailer.
Darren Jacques, residing in Hutton Hill, Penrith, Cumbria, had been standing trial at Newcastle Crown Court on charges of causing death by driving while disqualified. A jury of 12 individuals found Jacques guilty of the aforementioned charge. It was revealed during the trial that Jacques, after completing his work shift in Fenham that day, entered a local shop after driving onto the pavement in his van, which was towing a trailer with a small digger. Sergeant Alan Keenleyside, a Forensic Collision Investigator for Northumbria Police, opined that Jacques should have exercised greater caution, being aware of the children’s presence.
Upon police arrival at the scene, Jacques provided false personal information, including his name and date of birth, which he later admitted to falsifying out of panic. Despite emergency efforts to save Layton’s life, he was pronounced dead in the hospital. A post-mortem examination confirmed that the force of the trailer’s wheels running over Layton was responsible for his fatal injuries. In a statement on behalf of the family, Layton’s mother, Stephany, expressed their devastation and the tremendous loss they felt. She also acknowledged the determination of her mother and Northumbria Police in seeking justice for Layton.
Following the guilty verdict, Judge Adams informed Jacques that he would be sentenced at a later date and ordered a pre-sentence report to be prepared. Jacques was cautioned to anticipate an immediate custodial sentence and was granted bail until his next court appearance, with a provisional sentence date set for Monday, December 4.
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