This is Leicestershire --
A teenager accused of causing the death of an eight-year-old passenger in a crash has said he has no memory of driving the car.
The 17-year-old, giving evidence in his defence at Leicester Crown Court yesterday, claimed all he remembered was waking up in hospital.
He said he could not recall getting into the two-seater Smart car and was unable to say whether he was the driver or passenger.
The car collided with a telegraph pole and a wall in Gipsy Lane, Northfields, Leicester, at 10.50pm on July 3 last year.
Schoolboy Abhay Jadeja, of Harrison Road, Belgrave, Leicester, was in the rear luggage compartment.
He suffered a severe head injury and later died in hospital.
Ranvir Singh, then aged 20, was also in the vehicle and suffered "life threatening" injuries, but survived.
The left-hand drive Smart car belonged to Abhay's father and was allegedly taken from outside the family home without permission.
The defendant, from Leicester, was 16 at the time of the tragedy and cannot be named because of a court order.
He accepts being in the vehicle, but denies causing Abhay's death by careless driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving without a licence or insurance.
The defendant told the court he was "sad" and "upset" by the youngster's death.
Defence counsel Andrew Fryman asked him: "Do you know who was driving."
The teenager replied: "No."
Mr Fryman asked: "Were you driving?" He answered: "I cannot remember."
In cross-examination, prosecutor James Thomas said: "The reason you say you can't remember, I'm suggesting, is because you know you were driving and can't come to terms with the responsibility of what you did. I'm asking for the truth."
The defendant said: "I'm telling the truth. I can't remember."
He accepted he was wearing a red T-shirt at the time of the collision and suffered only "superficial" injuries.
Witnesses at the scene told the jury they saw a male in a red T-shirt emerge from the left-hand driver's side after the collision.
Mr Fryman suggested Singh, who had a driving licence, could have been driving the car.
Evidence shows Singh was on his mobile phone, talking to his girlfriend in a 38-second call, at about the time of the collision.
Mr Fryman claimed Singh could have been distracted, if he was the driver, and that may have caused the crash.
The jury have to be "sure" it was the defendant, and not Singh, who was driving, the court has heard.
If they are not sure, they must acquit the defendant.
Singh, now 21, of Harrison Road, Belgrave, Leicester, has admitted aggravated vehicle taking, by allowing himself to be a passenger and is awaiting sentence.
The prosecution alleges Singh's passenger side of the car took the brunt of the impact, hence his more serious injuries, including fractured ribs and pelvis, bruised lungs and a lacerated liver.
A medical expert's report stated Singh was most likely the passenger.
Neither the defendant nor Singh was wearing a seat belt.
Collision investigator Pc Stuart Bird said the crash happened in rainy conditions.
A possible cause could have been due to an inexperienced driver being unable to control the vehicle, he said.
Pc Bird said the car struck the nearside kerb twice before clipping a lamp post, causing it to spin into a telegraph pole and a wall. The trial continues. Reported by This is 16 hours ago.
A teenager accused of causing the death of an eight-year-old passenger in a crash has said he has no memory of driving the car.
The 17-year-old, giving evidence in his defence at Leicester Crown Court yesterday, claimed all he remembered was waking up in hospital.
He said he could not recall getting into the two-seater Smart car and was unable to say whether he was the driver or passenger.
The car collided with a telegraph pole and a wall in Gipsy Lane, Northfields, Leicester, at 10.50pm on July 3 last year.
Schoolboy Abhay Jadeja, of Harrison Road, Belgrave, Leicester, was in the rear luggage compartment.
He suffered a severe head injury and later died in hospital.
Ranvir Singh, then aged 20, was also in the vehicle and suffered "life threatening" injuries, but survived.
The left-hand drive Smart car belonged to Abhay's father and was allegedly taken from outside the family home without permission.
The defendant, from Leicester, was 16 at the time of the tragedy and cannot be named because of a court order.
He accepts being in the vehicle, but denies causing Abhay's death by careless driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving without a licence or insurance.
The defendant told the court he was "sad" and "upset" by the youngster's death.
Defence counsel Andrew Fryman asked him: "Do you know who was driving."
The teenager replied: "No."
Mr Fryman asked: "Were you driving?" He answered: "I cannot remember."
In cross-examination, prosecutor James Thomas said: "The reason you say you can't remember, I'm suggesting, is because you know you were driving and can't come to terms with the responsibility of what you did. I'm asking for the truth."
The defendant said: "I'm telling the truth. I can't remember."
He accepted he was wearing a red T-shirt at the time of the collision and suffered only "superficial" injuries.
Witnesses at the scene told the jury they saw a male in a red T-shirt emerge from the left-hand driver's side after the collision.
Mr Fryman suggested Singh, who had a driving licence, could have been driving the car.
Evidence shows Singh was on his mobile phone, talking to his girlfriend in a 38-second call, at about the time of the collision.
Mr Fryman claimed Singh could have been distracted, if he was the driver, and that may have caused the crash.
The jury have to be "sure" it was the defendant, and not Singh, who was driving, the court has heard.
If they are not sure, they must acquit the defendant.
Singh, now 21, of Harrison Road, Belgrave, Leicester, has admitted aggravated vehicle taking, by allowing himself to be a passenger and is awaiting sentence.
The prosecution alleges Singh's passenger side of the car took the brunt of the impact, hence his more serious injuries, including fractured ribs and pelvis, bruised lungs and a lacerated liver.
A medical expert's report stated Singh was most likely the passenger.
Neither the defendant nor Singh was wearing a seat belt.
Collision investigator Pc Stuart Bird said the crash happened in rainy conditions.
A possible cause could have been due to an inexperienced driver being unable to control the vehicle, he said.
Pc Bird said the car struck the nearside kerb twice before clipping a lamp post, causing it to spin into a telegraph pole and a wall. The trial continues. Reported by This is 16 hours ago.
