Fatal crash defendant accepts he caused deaths

Dylan Pounds will not give evidence at his trial at Jersey's Royal Court, his defence advocate said

A man has accepted he killed a father and son on a Jersey road - but not that he was driving dangerously, a court has heard.

Dylan Pounds' defence advocate Ian Jones told the Royal Court while the facts of the case involving the deaths of Dean and Charlie Lowe on 5 August 2023 were tragic, the 29-year-old did not have to prove anything.

Mr Pounds has admitted causing death by careless driving and failing to stop and report an accident but denies two charges of causing death by dangerous driving and another of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Maletroit said Mr Pounds' denials were ridiculous.

Father and son Dean and Charlie, aged 48 and 11 respectively, died after being hit by a van while walking along La Rue de Fauvic in Grouville.

The court was told Mr Pounds would not give evidence and no further witnesses would be called to give evidence.

Dean and Charlie Lowe were hit by a van while walking along La Rue de Fauvic in Grouville on 5 August 2023

Mr Jones said it was up to the prosecution to prove its case.

"Mr Pounds accepts he caused the deaths of Dean and Charlie Lowe and accepts he was driving carelessly, but was he driving dangerously?" he said.

Mr Jones added the speed Mr Pounds was doing at the time - which an investigation suggested was 47mph (76kph), 17mph (27kph) over the speed limit - was not in itself dangerous.

He said while Mr Pounds had used his mobile phone before the crash, he was not using it at the time of the incident.

Addressing if Mr Pounds was under the influence, Mr Jones said the defendant's drinking partner Callum Best - who gave evidence on Tuesday - was not a reliable witness because there was lots of information he could not remember.

'Deaths completely preventable'

Responding to Mr Jones' statements, Mr Maletroit said the Lowes were "perfectly entitled" to be feel safe on the road, but Mr Pounds was a "serious danger" to himself and others.

He said the denials from Mr Pounds were "quite frankly ridiculous".

"The deaths of Dean and Charlie Lowe were untimely, unfair and completely preventable," Mr Maletroit said.

He added Mr Pounds was distracted by a phone and also driving while intoxicated, so the allegation of drink-driving had to be considered in relation to all the facts.

Mr Maletroit said the van was a "wreck" and was seen on camera speeding on another road near Overdale after the incident had already taken place.

The court heard Dylan Pounds' van was parked in the Pembroke pub before he drove off

The court was shown two pieces of the van involved in the fatal crash that were recovered after the incident.

One piece of panelling had been recovered from under the passenger seat of the van while another part of the vehicle was found on La Rue a Don and not at the scene of the crash.

Footage from a bodycam worn by Det Con Luke Freeman during the arrest of Mr Pounds was also shown in court during which the defendant was heard asking officers when the crash happened.

He also had the keys to the van involved in the incident and his mobile phone, which the prosecution said he used while driving the vehicle, on him at the time of the arrest.

Earlier in the trial, the prosecution said Mr Pounds had been drinking at several pubs in Jersey on the day of the crash before returning to his van and driving off from the car park at the Pembroke pub.

A verdict is expected on Monday.