Witness saw pensioner push teen before being ‘poleaxed’ by fatal punch
A BUS passenger has told the trial of a teenager accused of killing an 82-year-old Derby man he saw the pensioner “poleaxed” by a punch and then “hit his head on the tiles” which fractured his skull.
And another witness said she saw Dennis Clarke, who used to visit her former place of work, surrounded by three teenagers “looking agitated”. She said that he pushed the accused seconds before being felled by the fatal punch at the city’s bus station.
A 17-year-old Derby youth, who was 16 at the time he landed the blow, is on trial at Derby Crown Court for causing the death of Army veteran Mr Clarke. He denies a single count of manslaughter claiming he was acting in self-defence when he struck the victim.
Witness John Taylor told the jury he was waiting for a bus to Chaddesden at bay 14 at the station, in The Morledge, when he saw what happened.
He said: “I was at the back of the queue looking for the driver (of the bus) and I could see an elderly gentleman and a youth seemed to be having a talk with one another. Nothing wrong with that, I thought, then his arms went up and I wondered what was coming.
“Then the punch was thrown and he was poleaxed, rigid.”
Prosecutor David Outterside asked Mr Taylor: “Who threw the punch? He replied: “The youth threw the punch.”
Mr Outterside asked: “How would you describe it?” Mr Taylor said: “It was a good, strong, punch that was, it meant business.”
Mr Outterside said: “Where did that land on the older gent?” He replied: “It could have been the face or the head, he just went like a log, dropped back and hit his head on the tiles. There was blood coming from his mouth, his eyes were open, someone came along and put him on his side.”
The trial has already heard that the incident took place between bays 13 and 14 at around 4.30pm on Thursday, May 6, last year, after Mr Clarke challenged the defendant and two of his friends, both then aged 13, as they were “hanging around” and messing about by the escalators in the Eagle Market.
He said they followed the victim to the bus station and the oldest of the gang landed the single punch.
Mr Clarke suffered a fractured skull from the fall and died nine days later in hospital. Witness Chantelle Morris said she too was in the station at the time of the incident.
Giving evidence she said: “He (Mr Clarke) used to come in the place where I work to get paracetamol. Three young teenagers were around him, he seemed agitated, like he did not want them next to him, he was getting very upset as well.
“I saw the older gentleman push the older one (the accused) away in the chest but I did not see the punch but I heard it. Then he was lying on the floor.”
Opening the trial on Monday, June 20, Mr Outterside, prosecuting, told the jury of eight women and four men: “(The defendant) was just 16 years of age when he threw that punch. It was a fatal punch which put Dennis Clarke to the floor and resulted in a skull fracture.
“(The defendant) will tell you he was acting in self defence. The crown say this was not self defence, not in a million years.
“This was a punch thrown in anger because Dennis Clarke had the temerity to tell him and his friends off. It was an assault by (the defendant) who would not let it go.”
The accused cannot be named for legal reasons and no further action is being taken against two other teenage boys who were arrested at the time in connection with the same incident.
The trial continues.