Father killed by car amid wedding feud - court

Chris Marriott had been out for a family walk when he stopped to help a woman lying unconscious in the street

A father-of-two was killed after getting caught up in a wedding feud between two families, a court has heard.

Chris Marriott, 46, was fatally struck by a car on 27 December while trying to help a woman who was lying motionless in the street in Burngreave, Sheffield.

Hassan Jhangur, 24, of Whiteways Road, is accused of Mr Marriott’s murder or manslaughter while his father Mohammed Jhangur, 56, is accused of perverting the course of justice.

Both deny the charges. The trial at Sheffield Crown Court continues.

At a previous hearing, Hassan Jhangur also denied charges of attempted murder and wounding with intent in relation to another victim.

He admitted causing death by dangerous driving but denied charges of grievous bodily harm.

Opening the case on Tuesday, prosecutor Tom Storey KC, told the jury a wedding between Amaani Jhangur and Hasan Khan had sparked the sequence of events which unfolded on 27 December.

The court heard Ms Jhangur’s family seemingly disapproved of the union, causing a violent dispute to break out outside the Khan’s family home in College Close later that day.

Hassan Jhangur is standing trial at Sheffield Crown Court following the death of Chris Marriott

During the altercation, the court heard, Nafeesa Jhangur, Hassan Jhangur’s sister, fell to the ground where she remained motionless.

Mr Storey said it was then Mr Marriott, who had been out on a walk with his wife and two children, came across Nafeesa Jhangur and went to help her.

He was soon joined by Alison Norris, a midwife, who had also been out on a walk with her family and spotted the woman.

As they tended to her, a Seat Ibiza car driven by Hassan Jhangur came around the corner “at some speed”.

The jury heard the vehicle first hit Hasan Khan’s father, Riasat, who had been standing nearby, and then ploughed into other bystanders, including Mr Marriott and Ms Norris.

The prosecution said Mr Marriott was “almost certainly” killed instantly and several others, including Mr Jhangur’s own sister and mother, suffered serious injuries.

'Flying through the air'

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Ms Norris told the court how she got "a smack" and felt herself "flying through the air".

She said: "Somehow - I still don't know how - I launched myself out of the way.

"I didn't even have time to cry out a warning, I just somehow moved. I still don't know how I did that."

She told the jury she feared the attack had been intentional as the vehicle had not changed speed and due to the position of its wheels.

Her partner, John Wood, said in his evidence that he remembered seeing the car swerve to avoid a "a person or two" who stood in the road before crashing into the group ahead.

"It was a slight swerve, left a bit towards the pavement, without slowing down," he told the court.

Following the collision, the prosecution said, Hassan Jhangur got out of the car, armed with a knife, and stabbed Hasan Khan several times.

Mr Storey told jurors: “Hassan Jhangur’s actions demonstrate that he intended to kill that day.

“His primary target seems to have been Hasan Khan, but he was clearly prepared to use his car as a weapon, intending to cause at least really serious harm to others.”

Hassan Jhangur’s father, Mohammed, arrived at the scene a short time later and the court heard how he allegedly took the knife from his son and hid it in the boot of his own car.

Mohammed Jhangur initially told police someone had planted the knife and when charged with perverting the course of justice, the prosecution said, he commented “should have left it on the floor”.

The trial continues.

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