Driver ‘mowed children down’ outside Black Country primary school
Mothers and young children were injured as a motorist deliberately drove at them outside a primary school at ‘dropping-off time’, a jury heard.
A babe-in-arms was thrown into the air and landed on the driveway of a nearby house as the red Ford B-Max ploughed into them, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
The car hit several people including two small children and a couple of men before coming to a standstill pinning some of them to a wall in Hob Green Road, Stourbridge.
The vehicle then reversed and drove off, continued an eyewitness who alleged the driver was 30-year-old Kevin Campbell.
Mr Nigel Stelling told the jury: “He deliberately mounted the footpath and deliberately drove at the group of people standing on that footpath.
"He did that because of a falling out and bad blood that existed between some of those people and him.”
Exchange of words
The defendant’s brother Jason was going out with the witness at the time after breaking up with the mother of his children, the court heard.
The female witness encountered two or three friends of his former sweetheart while walking to Hob Green Primary School with her two children at around 8.30am on September 12, 2016.
“Words were exchanged which were not friendly. There were vague threats and goading,” continued the prosecutor.
The female witness dropped off one of her children at the primary school and met friends who also had a child too young to be taught there.
As the crowd began to move away towards a nearby nursery the female witness allegedly saw one of the women she had clashed with earlier making a phone call.
Revving
The female witness alleged she was worried about what might have been going to happen and sent a text message to Jason Campbell, the court heard.
He joined them shortly before she heard the revving engine of a car coming from behind them and turned to see the Ford on the pavement.
The female witness told the jury: “As he drove straight towards us I stepped backwards into the road while others stood with their backs up against a garden wall.
"My young daughter was being held by my friend. I saw my daughter flying up into the air and my friend land on top of her on the driveway of a house. I didn’t see how my daughter went into the air.
“Jason was pinned up against the wall by the car which reversed away and drove straight on.”
Brothers
Several people needed check-ups at hospital after the incident but no one was badly hurt.
The defendant insists that the man behind the wheel of the Ford was not him but his brother Jason.
Mr Philip Brunt, defending, suggested the female witness blamed Kevin to protect Jason.
However she revealed her relationship with Jason broke down when he beat her up a month later and was taken to court.
She concluded: “I have no reason to protect him from anything.”
Kevin Campbell, of Vickers Walk, Stourbridge, denies dangerous driving and seven charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
The case continues.
