Speeding BMW driver, 32, who killed two schoolboys on bikes is slammed by judge for not admitting charges until ‘two years later than he should have’ and warned he faces a ‘very heavy sentence’
- BMW driver Jack Hart, 32, was driving too fast at the time of the crash
- Steven, 10, and Mason, 11, were riding their bikes when the tragedy happened
- Hart, of Anlaby Road, west of Hull, has previously denied causing their deaths
Speeding BMW driver killed two people schoolboys, aged 10 and 11, by reckless driving finally changed their guilty pleas – months after they shamelessly ‘played the system’.
BMW driver Jack Hart was denied bail and remanded in custody after leaving him until the day before the start of the trial before he pleaded guilty.
Hart had accelerated at the time of the crash and pulled into a bus lane. He then removed a dashcam.
Hart, 32, from Hull, had previously denied causing the death of Steven Duffield on October 19, 2020 and causing the death of Mason Deakin on November 2, 2020 by dangerous driving on Anlaby Road.
BMW driver Jack Hart (pictured) was refused bail and remanded in custody after leaving him until the day before the start of the trial before pleading guilty
Best friends Steven, 10, and Mason, 11, were cycling along a busy stretch of Anlaby Road near the East Yorkshire Bus Garage when the crash happened around 6:10 p.m.
Both boys were taken to Hull Royal Infirmary but Steven later died. Mason was kept in intensive care and had been transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, where he remained in a coma and on life support, but died two weeks later, with his family at his bedside.
Hart appeared at Hull Crown Court for a pre-trial plea hearing, which was due to start tomorrow.
His pleas of not guilty to the charges were entered during an earlier court appearance in June.
Hart was represented at the final hearing by Charlotte Baines, who said the seriousness of the case was due to him breaching a bus lane and speeding before the fatal collision.
Steven Duffield, 10 (pictured) was cycling with his friend along Anlaby Road when the crash happened He later died after being taken to Hull Royal Infirmary
Mason Deakin, 11 (pictured) was moved to Leeds General Infirmary, where he remained in a coma and on life support, but died two weeks later, with his family at his bedside
Hart appeared at Hull Crown Court for a pre-trial plea hearing, which was due to start tomorrow
At first he didn’t accept that he had anything to do with a missing dashcam.
However, after the case was put on hold for Hart to elaborate on it, Miss Baines later said he did not now want to present a plea basis on his version of the case.
She said Hart indicated he would change his guilty pleas days or weeks ago.
She asked Hart to be released on bail until sentencing day so he could settle his affairs. She added that he had always attended previous hearings.
“He’s been out on bail all along,” Miss Baines said. “There was no difficulty with him going on bail throughout the process.”
She added that she wanted to gather character references and information from a “health specialist” who had worked with him.
But Judge John Thackray KC said: ‘He’s had two years to get his house in order. He played the system and left it until the last possible minute.
“His plea came more than two years later than he should have.”
Hart pulled back his lip and stared ahead when told he would be taken into custody.
Judge Thackray said Hart faced a “very significant sentence measured in years”.
