Man Intended to Kill Crowd With Car, UK Court Hears

A man deliberately drove his car into a group of people with the intent to kill them, leaving a 26-year-old footballer fatally injured, a court has heard. Duane Anthony, 40, is accused of murder and five counts of attempted murder after a red Vauxhall Astra allegedly mounted a pavement and struck several pedestrians outside Sasha's Bar in Arnold, Nottingham, in the early hours of May 9.

Non-league footballer Tyler Fairman suffered a severe brain injury in the collision and died in hospital on May 12. His death was confirmed at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday. Anthony has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Prosecution counsel Gareth Weetman KC stated that an argument had occurred between two groups outside the bar around 1 a.m. Anthony and his girlfriend, Destiny Carrier, 29, who is also on trial accused of assisting an offender, had been at the bar with friends. The verbal altercation escalated and moved into nearby streets.

"After two to three minutes, Duane Anthony was seen to walk away down a nearby road, towards the car he had arrived in," Weetman told the jury. "The onlooker might've thought 'there's a man walking away from this disagreement'. That onlooker would have been wrong.

"Duane Anthony went back to that parked car and got back into it, with the intention of driving back to the area he left, back to the area he knew the group he had the disagreement with would be, with the intention of pointing that vehicle at the group and driving that vehicle into them."

CCTV footage of the incident, played in court, reportedly showed Mr. Fairman and others being forcefully thrown by the impact. The prosecution alleges that Anthony drove at the pedestrians in a "cold, calculated and violent" manner, mounting the pavement with the intent to aim at the group.

One man on the pavement managed to avoid the vehicle, but others, including Mr. Fairman, were struck. Emergency services were called to the scene at 1:10 a.m., where Mr. Fairman was found unconscious with skull fractures and brain swelling. His life support was withdrawn three days later.

Several other pedestrians sustained injuries, including head, shoulder, and elbow injuries, and one was left on crutches with a swollen knee. Another suffered rib tenderness. The prosecution stated that Anthony fled the scene without checking on the victims.

Regarding Carrier, the prosecution suggested she was aware of Anthony's actions. "She can see in front of her what he has done. The red Astra she drove earlier that night is there in the state we see it in. She goes over and stands where some of those injured by Duane Anthony's actions are," Weetman said.

The court heard that Carrier left a taxi near her home alone at 1:27 a.m. but met up with Anthony by 2:27 a.m. They were seen walking together, which the prosecution claims was an attempt to evade police. The pair were later seen leaving an address in Bulwell around 5:50 a.m. in a vehicle with trade registration plates. Anthony was arrested later that day. The trial is ongoing.