Man 'misjudged it' when driving into crowd - trial

A murder-accused man who drove a car into a crowd of people has said he "just misjudged it" when trying to scare them.

Duane Anthony told a trial at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday he was behind the wheel of a vehicle that hit five people in Gedling Road, Arnold, Nottinghamshire, on 9 May.

Tyler Fairman, 26, later died from injuries he sustained in the crash.

Jurors have heard Anthony, 40, of Marton Road in Bulwell, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Fairman but denies murdering him. He has also pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder but admits assault occasioning actual bodily harm to four men.

Anthony told the court he had been out drinking with his partner, Destiny Carrier, and other friends before they went to a bar in Arnold on the evening of 8 May.

He said there were "general good vibes" at the bar before a group of footballers arrived, after which the atmosphere changed.

"One or two of them tried it on with Destiny," he said.

"She told them she's got a boyfriend, and they didn't accept it."

Anthony - who told jurors he was "tipsy" - said his partner was upset and so he tried to leave the scene, but they were followed by the footballers.

He said he went back to the car and had "assumed" Carrier was with him, but when he found she was not, he drove the wrong way up the one-way street on which they had parked and went looking for her.

"I just wanted to find Destiny and go home," he told jurors.

When he spotted the footballers in Gedling Road, Anthony said he "went towards them" because he wanted "to scare them".

Asked why he drove the car into the crowd, he said: "I just misjudged it."

Anthony said he tried to reverse the car away, but when realising it was stuck, he fled the scene because "I was afraid of the same people getting hold of me".

He also said he felt a slash wound to his right arm during the argument at the bar, but did not see a knife.

After fleeing the scene, Anthony said he later met Carrier and said he had been involved in "an accident", before they eventually went to a friend's house in Radcliffe.

He said she "told me to hand myself in" after she saw news coverage of the crash.

When asked about if he regrets the incident, Anthony described it as "a sad situation" and said he never intended to hurt anyone.

"Obviously I can't turn it back, and it's going to be on my conscience for the rest of my life," he said.

Anthony denies one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder, and five counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

Carrier, 29, of Lothair Road, Leicester, has pleaded not guilty to assisting an offender.

The trial continues.

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