Doncaster man found guilty of causing two deaths in fireball crash

The scene in Poppyfields Way, Branton following the fatal crash which occurred on August 25 last year.

James Maughan, aged 21, of Marshland Road, Moorends, had denied being the driver of a black Renault Megane which crashed into a property in Poppyfields Way, Branton, on August 25 last year.

The collision resulted in the deaths of passengers 26-year-old Liam Aldred and 27-year-old Dean McIntyre, and the serious injury of Bradley Stevenson, aged 21. A 15-year-old male passenger also sustained minor injuries.

Dean McIntyre, aged 27, died when a car he was travelling in crashed into a house in Poppyfields Way, Branton and caught fire.

But a jury at Sheffield Crown Court today found Maughan guilty of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He is due to be sentenced later this week.

At an earlier hearing, the court was told how the Megane was being driven at speeds in excess of 70mph in a 30mph zone shortly before it ploughed into a house and became engulfed in flames.

Eyewitness Tracey Jackson, who was a passenger in a van, said: “The car was weaving in and out of traffic and cutting between us and the bollards in the road.”

Liam Aldred, 26, died when a car he was travelling in crashed into a house in Poppyfields Way, Branton and caught fire.

The court also heard how Maughan was admitted into Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Wales, under the false name of Curtis O’Brian, several hours after the incident. He is alleged to have told medics he had sustained his burns during a family barbecue.