Utterby crash: Friends were racing before woman killed, court told

Denii Reynolds died after a crash on the A16 at Utterby, near Louth

Four men accused of causing the death of a 20-year-old woman in a crash in Lincolnshire were racing each other at the time, a jury has been told.

Denii Reynolds died following a crash on the A16 at Utterby, near Louth, on 26 October 2021.

At the time of the incident, Ms Reynolds was a passenger in a Citroen C1 which collided with a Vauxhall Corsa, seriously injuring its occupant.

At Lincoln Crown Court, four men deny causing death by dangerous driving.

Keelan Tuke, 21, of Grafton Street, Grimsby, Riley Duncombe, 19, of Thesiger Walk, Grimsby, Keigan Launder, 23, of Louth Road, Grimsby, and Josh Dobb, 21, of Hadleigh Road, Immingham, also deny a second charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving to the occupant of the Corsa.

The jury heard the Citroen C1, being driven by Mr Tuke, collided with the Corsa at about 21:45 BST close to the junction with Ings Lane.

Jeremy Janes, prosecuting, told the court all four vehicles had been racing in convoy.

According to Mr Janes, Mr Tuke was at the front of the convoy, followed by Mr Dobb in a Ford Fiesta van, Mr Duncombe in a Ford Fiesta and Mr Launder in a Mercedes A180.

'Grossly excessive speeds'

Mr Janes said the driver of the Corsa, a woman in her 70s, was heading south along the A16 "perfectly properly" when she was struck head-on by the Citroen.

She was taken to hospital after suffering a smashed right foot, a broken right leg and a broken wrist, the court was told.

"Within that vehicle, the Citroen, as a front-seat passenger, was Mr Tuke's 20-year-old partner, Denii Reynolds, who suffered catastrophic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene," Mr Janes told the jury.

"Mr Tuke was going far too fast along the A16 and went on to the complete wrong side of the road," he said.

All four drivers were travelling at "grossly excessive speeds" in the moments before the crash, the court heard

Mr Janes said all four drivers were travelling at "grossly excessive speeds" of up to 98mph (157km/h).

"Put simply, we say all four of these defendants were effectively racing themselves along the A16. One behind the other."

"An ordinary competent driver does not use the A16 as a race track," Mr Janes told the court.

"If you all choose to race and compete with each other, it is not surprising that the vehicle in front of you is going to go a bit faster to stay ahead of you. You are all a cause of what happens if it goes wrong.

"They are all as bad as each other."

The trial continues.