Particle.news

Download on the App Store

Homeowner Cleared and Burglar Convicted in Fatal Bike Chase Crash

The mixed verdict raises questions about the duty of care owed by homeowners during high-speed pursuits of suspected burglars.

Image

Overview

  • Jurors at Minshull Street Crown Court found that homeowner Callum Duncan did not cause Dean Barnes’s death by dangerous driving during the January 2023 chase.
  • They convicted Adam Norman of causing death by dangerous driving after he clipped a third-party car at a Stockport junction, leading to Barnes’s fatal fall.
  • Evidence showed Duncan pursued the thieves at speeds up to 36 mph in a 20 mph zone, while Norman sped across two lanes in a panicked bid to evade him.
  • Prosecutors argued Duncan’s high-speed chase fuelled a personal vendetta that increased crash risk, and defense counsel countered that Norman’s junction crossing was the true cause.
  • Norman and co-defendant Alexander Riley, both of whom pleaded guilty to burglary, will be sentenced in September.