Burglary victim who chased motorbike thief cleared of causing death of boy, 16

Thevictim of a burglarycharged with dangerous driving after chasing the gang that stole his motorbikesbefore a fatal collision has been cleared in court.

Dean Barnes was riding pillion when the bike, which was being ridden by Adam Norman, crashed while they were trying to get away from the motorbike's owner, Callum Duncan - who was chasing them in his car.

Norman clipped the car of an unconnected party and Barnes came off, dying instantly, while the driver, Norman, was "lucky" to walk away from the crash.

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Mr Duncan, 28, was accused of contributing to the crash, but he did not collide with the bike, with a judge at Minshull Street Crown Court finding him not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

Meanwhile, Norman - who had already admitted burglary - was hit with another charge of causing death by dangerous driving. Alexander Riley, who was out stealing the bikes with Norman and Barnes, has also admitted burglary.

Norman, 36, of no fixed address but from Brinnington; and Riley 21, of Blackberry Lane in Brinnington; will be sentenced in September, reports Manchester Evening News.

Tributes were paid to Barnes at the time of his death by his family. A loved one said: "He was such a dare devil but sweet boy, and he will be truly missed on the estate.

"There's not a day that will go by where no one won’t think about him because he was so loved by his family, friends and the big community. Another young life taken far to soon, we’ll see you on the other side of the stars Deano."

Prosecutors told how the Norman, Riley and Barnes went out in the early hours to commit a burglary at a house in Harewood Grove, Reddish. They knew bikes were stored in a shed after seeing one for sale on Facebook Marketplace, the trial heard. A drill and bolt croppers were used to break into the shed, at about 6.30am that morning.

Barnes took a small Yamaha PW50, commonly known as a ‘Pee Wee’, Riley rode a larger Kawasaki and Norman took the largest bike, a white and black Husqvarna.

The Husqvarna belonged to Mr Duncan, and the two other bikes belonged to his family and friends. Having heard the break-in, Mr Duncan gave chase in his Golf GTI.

Shortly after realising they were being chased, Barnes left the ‘Pee Wee’ behind and got on the back of the Husqvarna with Norman. Riley fled down Wharfdale Road.

Mr Duncan was said to be travelling at up to 36mph in a 20mph zone and was seen to ‘bounce’ over speed bumps. He was closing the gap on the bike being driven by Norman.

Riley turned right onto Gorton Road. Norman instead tried to ride straight, across two lanes of traffic, onto Ainsdale Grove, a residential road opposite. “Sadly for Dean Barnes, Adam Norman didn’t make it,” prosecutor Phil Barnes said. Sarah Ferrige, a driver ‘doing absolutely nothing wrong’, came along Gorton Road from the left.

Norman clipped her car, and both men fell from the bike. Norman was ‘lucky’, Mr Barnes said, and was able to walk away from the crash. But Dean Barnes fell and hit a parked car, and was killed ‘instantly’.

Mr Duncan stopped before the collision and was not accused of colliding with the bike being driven by Norman. Mr Barnes said that Mr Duncan took the Husqvarna bike from the scene and brought it to his mother’s house nearby.

The ‘Pee Wee’ bike was later also returned to his possession. Mr Duncan only called the emergency services almost four hours later, the court heard. He then said he had ‘only just realised how bad it was’.

After being arrested shortly after, Mr Duncan replied ‘no comment’ to most questions, but added: “I wasn’t driving dangerously, didn’t do nothing to cause the crash.”

Giving evidence, Mr Duncan said that morning he had heard 'bikes starting up'. He told jurors: "I looked out my window and saw three males in the road on my bikes. I realised my bikes had been taken, I kept three off-road bikes in my shed.

"I went downstairs, found my keys, put my sliders on and a coat and got in my car. I was curious to see where they were going." Mr Duncan said he stopped at the junction prior to the crash because it was a 'busy main road'. He denied trying to 'ram' the bike, saying: "Otherwise I wouldn't have braked in the road."

He said he didn't see the fatal collision, adding: "I just heard a bang. I can't really explain how I felt, I've never felt that way since."

Norman went into ‘hiding’ after the incident and was only arrested on June 23, 2023. He replied ‘no comment’ to questions in his police interview.

Mr Barnes said of Norman: “In his desperation to get away from the crime he had just committed, he rode that already dangerous bike at a speed which was completely excessive for the road conditions, paying no heed to other traffic, failing to give way at the junction and barrelling through blindly in the vain hope that he would make it to the other side.”