Two charged over death in Liverpool of NI man hit by car during stag weekend
TWO people have been charged over the death of a Co Antrim man in an alleged hit-and-run in England.
Matthew Bradley, a landscape architect, was on a stag night with friends in Liverpool when he was struck by a grey BMW on The Strand in the Albert Dock area.
Paramedics worked on the 24-year-old Glenavy man at the scene near the Hitlon Hotel on Friday, November 3 last year, but he died in hospital.
His family previously paid tribute to Matthew, praising the “funny, kind-hearted and generous young man”.
In a statement Matthew’s parents Donal and Margaret Bradley, on behalf of his three sisters Claire, Roisin and Megan and his girlfriend, Rhiannon, said: “Matthew was hugely talented and award-winning in his chosen career of landscape gardening — following in his dad’s footsteps — and had an illustrious career ahead of him.
“He was a funny, kind-hearted and generous young man who will be sorely missed by all that knew him.”
The two accused — Thomas Joseph Bimson and Ibrar Saddique — appeared at Liverpool Magristrates Court on Monday in connection with his death.
Bimson (22), from Waterloo Road, Vauxhall, Liverpool, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, causing death while driving unlicensed, and causing death while driving uninsured.
Saddique (34), of Sunnybank Lane, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, was charged with aiding and abetting a driver who causes death by dangerous driving.
They are both due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, September 10.
In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph after his death, Matthew’s girlfriend Rhiannon Williams (24) told how she dropped him off ahead of his night out before travelling on to north Wales to stay with family.
“On the way in the car we were making plans for Christmas,” she said.
“We spent last year with his family, so he was going to have his first Christmas at my house this year.
“Then we were going to Barcelona in the new year.
“We’d never been on holiday together, so it was going to be our first one.”
Rhiannon, who was l i ving with Matthew in Guildford, added: “I don’t think I’ ll ever get over him.”
The couple, who met at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2016 and both worked for the same company, had been together for 18 months and had talked about spending the rest of their lives together.
“He was always talking about us getting married, it was all he would talk about to the guys at work and his family,” she said.
“We both shared the dream of moving back to Northern Ireland to build our own house.”
Matthew’s lifelong friend Chris Prior (24), who went to Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School with him, paid tribute, saying he “looked up to Matthew”.