FIVE YEARS FOR DEATH CRASH DRIVER
Teenjailedforhit-and-run thatcostlifeofpopulardad
A teenager has been jailed after causing the death of a popular dad in a hit-andrun.
Liam Carr, 19, has been sent to prison after “aggressively” driving his Seat Ibiza at speed and ploughing into Gary Wood on the night of June 2.
The much-loved dad was left fighting for his life in hospital as Carr, who fled the scene, and his co-defendant Gareth Bainbridge, 39, torched the car in an attempt to cover their tracks.
The two defendants, plus Bainbridge’s son Larry Bainbridge, 18, were initially charged with murder of Mr Wood, but pleaded guilty to lesser offences on the day of the trial.
Prosecutor Richard Wright QC, told Newcastle Crown Court how an argument ensued in a car park outside of Glendale Social Club, Houghton, between Carr, the younger Bainbridge and a “heavily intoxicated” male associate. He said the two defendants got into their car and the man threw a brick at the vehicle – but it flew through the window and hit Larry Bainbridge’s younger relation in the head.
The boy was hospitalised with serious injuries, and then Gareth Bainbridge “took the law into his own hands” and decided to take revenge on the man.
Mr Wright explained how Bainbridge Snr then patrolled the area looking for the man in his VW, and driver Carr, with Bainbridge Jnr in the passenger seat, did the same in a white Seat Ibiza.
Gary Wood was with the man at his address on Seaham Road when Bainbridge Snr pulled up outside the house and began making threats.
Mr Wood told Bainbridge Snr to leave, and then threw a hammer at the car, the court heard.
Bainbridge Snr left and as Mr Wood went into the road to retrieve his hammer he was struck by the Seat Ibiza – which was travelling at excessive speed.
The court heard how Carr fled the scene and then abandoned and torched the vehicle along with Bainbridge Sr – in attempt to get rid on any evidence.
Carr, of Langdon Road, Westerhope, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to death by dangerous driving, perverting the course of justice and two counts of affray.
Gareth Bainbridge, of School Road, East Rainton, admitted perverting the course of justice and two counts of affray, and Larry Bainbridge, of the same address, admitted one count of affray.
Jamie Hill, QC, defending Carr, told the court how his client had moved in with the Bainbridge family and saw Gareth Bainbridge as a father figure after his own father died two years ago.
He said: “This was a sequence of events that were totally out of character.
“For a teenager to have the maturity to say ‘I deserve to go to prison because someone lost their life’ is a great admission.”
Toby Hedworth QC, said that his client Gareth Bainbridge became enraged after his son was struck by the brick and was hospitalised.
Mr Hedworth said: “He accepts in his plea that he did not act in the way that he should have as a responsible adult.”
Carr was sentenced to five years and six months in a young offenders institution and was disqualified from driving for three years with an extended period of two years nine months.
Bainbridge Snr must serve 18 months in prison, and Bambridge Jnr must serve a one-year community order with a 15-day rehabilitation requirement.