Man accused of crash death denies racing his brother

Umar Ben Yusaf is accused of being responsible for dangerous driving in the moments leading up to the crash

A man accused of causing a father-of-two's death by dangerous driving denies racing his brother and says he did not realise the car ahead was his.

Rhys Jenkins, of Deuddwr, Powys, was killed on the A483 near Welshpool on 16 November 2024, and his son Ioan was seriously injured when their car was hit head-on by a BMW X3 driven by Abubakr Ben Yusaf.

Abubakr and his brother Umar, both locum optometrists, were driving home to Manchester from Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, in separate cars when the crash happened.

Both deny causing death or serious injury by dangerous driving, and Abubakr also denies causing death while uninsured.

Father-of-two Rhys Jenkins was killed in the crash on 16 November 2024

Giving evidence, Umar Ben Yusaf, who is married with three young children, told Mold Crown Court on Monday he had driven in a "careful and considerate" manner before the crash.

He said he and his brother parked separately and there had not been any "banter" before they set off about who was going to get home first.

Umar Ben Yusaf said he first saw his brother's BMW X3 on the A483 just beyond the Newtown bypass overtaking a vehicle.

He admitted overtaking several cars in his Audi A4 but said he stayed within the speed limits.

He was also asked about dash-cam footage shown to the court earlier in the trial which shows a car being overtaken by three vehicles.

He told the jury he accepted the third car in the footage was his, but said he did not initially realise the car ahead was his brother's.

Recalling the moments leading up to the crash taking place, he explained how he had overtaken a van on a straight road, and could see, but not identify another vehicle ahead, which he said was "several car lengths away".

The vehicle "appeared to lose control", he said, leading him to slow down his own vehicle.

At that point, as the distance began to shorten, he told the jury he could see it was his brother's BMW.

After the collision, he said he pulled over to the other carriageway with his lights on to warn oncoming vehicles about the accident.

Abubakr Ben Yusaf (right) is accused of causing the death of a father-of-two by driving dangerously

Under cross-examination, Umar Ben Yusaf was asked why he had overtaken so many vehicles.

He replied that he had only passed cars "driving below the speed limit" and insisted he had not exceeded the limit himself.

Asked if witnesses who said he was driving over the speed limit were wrong, he said it was about their "perception of speed".

Umar Ben Yusaf was also questioned about the moments after the collision, when he lifted Ioan from the Toyota and placed him on the grass verge.

Prosecution barrister John Philpotts asked why he had not spoken to the child as he began to regain consciousness, suggesting Umar Ben Yusaf had wanted to "get away as quickly as possible" once he realised the severity of the situation.

He denied this, replying, "no."

"I was in panic seeing my brother in not a well state, I could have said to him 'let's go'," he added.

Umar Ben Yusaf said he drove away from the scene with the intention of taking his brother to hospital in Shrewsbury which he believed was about half an hour away, but he stopped in a Tesco car park near Welshpool so he could "think clearly".

He described how he used the toilet at the supermarket, before heading back towards the crash site, and being stopped by a police community support officer who was diverting traffic because of the collision.

Mr Philpotts asked why he had not just waited for an ambulance at the scene.

"I was panicking," he said, adding there was "no sign" of the emergency services.

"Your first thought was 'let's get away as fast as we can?'" Asked Mr Philpotts. "Incorrect," he replied.

He added it was "incorrect" that he and his brother "knew what they had done", and their manner of driving had led to "catastrophic consequences".

The trial continues.