Father and son jailed for killing boy, 4, in crash

A father and son who killed a four-year-old family member in a crash have been jailed.

Owen Maughan, 27, of Hill Rise in Darenth, admitted the manslaughter of Peter Maughan after ramming the pick-up truck the boy was in with his own vehicle on 1 June near Dartford, Kent.

A jury acquitted Owen Maughan of murder in February and he was handed a prison sentence of 12 years and eight months on Wednesday.

His 54-year-old father Patrick Maughan, also of Hill Rise, was his son's front seat passenger and was jailed for 18years after being convicted of manslaughter.

Maidstone Crown Court previously heard that Owen and Patrick Maughan had consumed 12 bottles of beer and 13 pints respectively before getting in their vehicle.

They chased the other pick-up for several miles in a state of fury, the jury heard, but the reason they were angry was unclear.

The court heard Peter was thrown from the vehicle and died of "severe and devastating injuries" to his head, chest and abdomen.

Owen Maughan testified he "made a cowardly decision" to flee the scene after seeing his relative's car roll several times.

Owen Maughan's sentence was reduced from 19 years as a result of his guilty plea. Both killers will serve two-thirds of their sentences in custody.

Owen Maughan was also banned from driving for 17 years and eight months and Patrick Maughan was banned for 21 years and two months.

In a victim impact statement read by the prosecution, Peter's mother Hayley Maughan said she had "a fantastic life before this happened" but was now "an empty shell".

"Peter didn't get to start his life, didn't get to start football, go to big school, have a girlfriend, get married, have a job," she said. "He didn't even get to read."

She added: "I have nightmares when Peter comes to me and asks why I didn't get to him earlier to save him."

Hayley Maughan wrote in her statement that she now found feeding her one-year-old daughter hard as "everything she does reminds me of Peter".

"This has destroyed our family, we are broken as a family, he was my whole world," she said.

Her partner Lovell Mahon was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash and was so badly injured he was told he would never walk again.

Owen Maughan admitted to inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mahon while Patrick Maughan was found guilty of the same offence at trial.

In his statement, Mahon said: "I was in hospital for seven and a half months after the crash, all the while knowing my son was dead.

"My rehabilitation is like a full time job. Being in a wheelchair and living each day without my son is very hard."

Hayley Maughan said she now cares for her partner and that her daughter, who was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash, "doesn't understand what's happened and why I can't be a proper mum to her as before".

The mother and her daughter were in the struck vehicle but escaped serious injury in the crash.

According to Judge Oliver Saxby KC, Owen and Patrick Maughan "were the aggressors from the outset" and Patrick was "encouraging Owen Maughan to drive as he did".

He said: "You were angry he had not stopped and wanted to teach him a lesson.

"This was no nudge. You, Owen Maughan, pulled out and, travelling at around 60mph, you angled your vehicle into it then rammed it."

The victims' lives were "irretrievably shattered by what you did, by your drunken, selfish, senseless anger", the judge said.

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