A driver turned his car into a "weapon" when he mounted a footpath outside a takeaway, a court heard.
The jury was told Stephen McHugh denies the murder of Rebecca Steer but admits her manslaughter, after she was dragged under his car in the centre of Oswestry, Shropshire. Ms Steer, 22, was a Liverpool FC fan and criminal justice student at Liverpool John Moores University.
McHugh has admitted assault causing injury to Kyle Roberts, who was also hit by the car, but denies attempting to cause him grievous bodily harm with intent. Opening the facts of the case at Stafford Crown Court, prosecutor Kevin Hegarty KC said 28-year-old McHugh was driving a gold-coloured Volvo on Willow Street at around 2.45am on October 9 last year.
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Alleging McHugh stopped in the road and "exchanged words" with a group of people, Mr Hegarty told the court: "At that moment Rebecca Steer was crossing Willow Street. All of a sudden, as she was crossing, the Volvo shot backwards. It narrowly missed her."
Jurors were told Ms Steer managed to get out of the way of the car and made her way onto the opposite pavement. Mr Hegarty added: "At that moment Mr McHugh turned the steering wheel in the direction of the people on the pavement and then he drove on to the pavement towards that group of people.
"The driver’s side of the car went on to the kerb, on to the footpath, and he proceeded to drive through the group. We say he used his car as a weapon – he used the power and the weight of the car to strike the group."
McHugh's car hit three people, the court heard, including two men who were "knocked aside" by the front wing. Mr Hegarty added: "Rebecca Steer was more towards the front of the car and as the car increased its speed – as it went through the group, she was dragged down under the car.
"The car then went over her – which is to say one or more of the wheels went over her. She was crushed – in effect she was left with rib fractures and catastrophic internal injuries."
Before showing the jury CCTV clips from nearby business premises of the Volvo being reversed and then driven forwards into Ms Steer and Mr Roberts, Mr Hegarty said of McHugh: "He was heard speaking in an aggressive way.
"You may well think the way he reversed the car, which was at speed and without regard to those around him, gives a clear insight into what he was thinking and what he intended to do. We say that was to strike his target whoever it was. We don’t suggest Rebecca Steer was his target – she was in effect a bystander."
The CCTV of the incident showed the group outside the takeaway were given no time to escape and Ms Steer "had no chance to get away", according to Mr Hegarty. The jury heard McHugh had been at a local football match before visiting two pubs and a nightclub.
He was arrested two days later and claimed he "didn't mean to hit anyone". The court heard shortly before the alleged murder a man who was searching the boot of a car in Oswestry was left with a bloody nose by McHugh. The prosecution said the incident showed he previously "got involved in violence".
Mr Hegarty said a front-seat passenger in McHugh's Volvo, which was abandoned close to nearby flats, told him to calm down but he "accelerated away".
The barrister told the jury: "This is not a collision where a pedestrian is thrown some distance by an impact. Stephen McHugh has gone from a standing start up onto the pavement and through the people there, and took Rebecca Steer with him. What else could he have had in mind for people in that group other than to cause, at the very least, really serious harm? If that is proved, that is murder."
The trial continues.
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