"He was very drunk, in my opinion"

Wednesday 23 October 2024

A 29-year-old man who killed a father and his young son in a hit-and-run in Jersey was "jovial", "jokey" and "very drunk" on the dancefloor in a pub just before the collision, according to an eyewitness.

Speaking on the second day of the Royal Court trial of Dylan John Pounds – who denies causing the deaths of 48-year-old Dean and 11-year-old Charlie Lowe by dangerous driving but admits the lesser charge of careless driving – Sarah Blake said she had a "vivid memory" of the defendant holding a "pint glass of beer, sloshing from side to side".

Ms Blake had been in the Pembroke pub in Grouville on Jersey's east coast on the evening of 5 August last year with her partner and another friend.

On the first day of the trial, Jersey's Royal Court was shown footage of Charlie Lowe warning his father "imagine being hit by a drunk driver" just minutes before their deaths on Rue de Fauvic, also in Grouville.

Yesterday, Ms Blake told the court that her group had got talking to Pounds and his friend Callum Best, who she said seemed to have been drinking pints of beer for "a few hours" and were "jovial, jokey and loud".

When asked by Jersey's Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae whether "either of them were capable of driving", she replied: "No, not at that point."

Pictured: The trial opened in Jersey's Royal Court on Monday.

She had told Pounds and Mr Best that her group were going to the Dolphin Hotel where a live band was playing, and offered them a lift. She was driving because she had not been drinking that night. Ms Blake, her partner and their friend left the Dolphin Hotel before Pounds and Mr Best.

Mr Best also gave evidence in court, explaining how he had met with Pounds in the Union Inn in La Grande Route de Saint-Jean, in the centre of Jersey, just after midday that day.

He said a bacon roll was all each of them ate that day.

After drinking there they moved to the Pembroke pub and then accepted the offer of a lift to the Dolphin Hotel which is in Gorey, also on Jersey's east coast.

He said: "The plan was to have a couple more drinks, listen to the music and get the bus home."

CCTV footage from the bus showed the pair boarding the vehicle to St Helier and Pounds getting off at Grouville Station bus stop. He then picked up his van from the Pembroke pub car park and drove home in it.

Gavin Renault, a homeowner whose property overlooks La Rue de Fauvic, remembered hearing a "dull thud" on the road later that evening but no signs of a vehicle stopping.

Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit asked him: "Did you hear any screeching tyres or anything you would associate with braking?"

He said: "No."

He also said he did not hear anything he "would associate with colliding with a wall".

But Advocate Ian Jones, defending, then asked the homeowner: "You never heard a car engine. Would you expect to hear one with the windows closed?"

Mr Renault said: "No."

The trial is expected to conclude next week.

Jersey's Deputy Bailiff is presiding with Jurats Jane Ronge and Karen Le Cornu sitting.

Pictured top: Images supplied by Charlie and Dean Lowe's family.