Dario Carboni, 24, pictured outside court, is accused of killing ex-paratrooper Kenneth Kiley, 75, with his car
A ‘laughing’ driver murdered a former paratrooper by ramming him with his car just moments after the pair were involved in a crash, a court has heard.
Kenneth Kiley, 75, had been returning home from a dinner with his wife Marion when the couple were hit by another car on a roundabout near their home in Swindon.
The Kileys’ car spun 180 degrees and knocked against a street sign as the other car drove off with the occupants ‘laughing’, a court heard.
Mr Kiley got out of the car and began to walk in the direction of a blue Vauxhall Corsa with pen and paper in hand to get the driver’s insurance details.
But Corsa driver Dario Carboni, 24, sped back down the road and ‘put his foot down’, the court was told.
It hit and killed Mr Kiley and then sped off again before the driver jumped out and ran off, prosecutors say.
Witnesses said they heard a vehicle accelerating followed by the sound of a man screaming and a ‘massive dull thud’.
Mr Kiley was taken to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford with injuries including a skull fracture but died the following day on July 9 last year.
Carboni is on trial at Bristol Crown Court for murder, manslaughter and death by dangerous driving – all three of which he denies.
He claims the Corsa was not being driven by him but by Patrick Cunnington – who was also in the car at the time.
Kenneth Kiley, 75, (right) was murdered when he was knocked down and killed by a driver he was trying to exchange details with following a crash, a court heard
Prosecutor Adam Feest said: ‘This is a case of murder. Carboni had plenty of time to see Mr Kiley, no matter at what point he stepped off the pavement.
‘Evidence will show he made no effort to brake or swerve to avoid such an obvious obstruction in the road. He deliberately accelerated towards his victim.
‘Anyone doing so must have had the intention to kill them or cause them serious harm.’
He said: ‘On July 8 last year, at around 8.30pm, Mr Kiley and his wife were returning home from a dinner at Toby Carvery in their red Toyota Yaris.
‘They were coming down Westfield Way in Swindon, and getting ready to turn right on a roundabout into Southernwood Drive, where they live.
‘A collision took place between their car and a blue Corsa travelling in the opposite direction.
‘They came together on the roundabout, and the Kileys vehicle was turned nearly through 180 degrees, and ended up against a street name road sign.
‘The blue Corsa did not stop at the scene. It turned left into Southernwood Drive and drove out of sight.’
Mr Feest said Southernwood Drive is a cul-de-sac, with a number of small roads leading off it that are also culs-de-sacs.
He said the blue Corsa turned down one of these roads, before turning round at the end and driving back just two minutes later.
The Corsa then drove to the end of Southernwood Drive and, realising this was also a cul-de-sac, turned around and began to drive back in the direction of Westfield Way, the court heard.
Mr Kiley then stepped into the road from behind a parked car – and was knocked down and killed by the blue Corsa, it was said.
Dario Carboni, 24, who was allegedly driving at the time of the fatal crash, denies murder, manslaughter and death by dangerous driving
Mr Feest said the Corsa was abandoned in a nearby street where Carboni and his friend Patrick Cunnington were seen getting out and running away.
He said blood was visible on the car’s windscreen while hair was embedded in a dent.
He said: ‘It is the Crown’s case that Mr Carboni was still driving the car at this point.’
He added that a number of residents overheard either the first or the second collision, and came out to help Mrs Kiley, who was still in her car.
A number of residents describe hearing a screeching of car tyres followed by a ‘loud thud’ at the moment that Mr Kiley was hit.
Local Thomas Blackwood ran out into the street with his mother after seeing Mr Kiley lying face down, with his head on the pavement and body in the road.
Mr Blackwood said Mr Kiley was ‘bleeding heavily all over his face’ and had ‘severe swelling and bruising’ on the side of his head.
The two men in the Corsa were then seen by witnesses to jump out of the car and run from the scene.
One couple, Rebecca and Matthew Norman, overheard the two men inside laughing and talking as they drove from the scene of the first road traffic collision, it was said.
Mr Norman claims he heard one of the car’s occupants say something about losing a licence.
Carboni and Mr Cunnington were apprehended separately by police, with the latter saying he had not been behind the wheel and he and Carboni had been in Swindon selling cannabis.
In a police interview, Carboni denied being the driver of the vehicle when Mr Kiley was injured, but accepted being the driver in the initial crash despite not having a licence.
Mr Cunnington was the first of the Corsa’s occupants to be arrested by police.
He told police that he had been in Swindon that weekend and had been ‘up to no good’, and had been selling cannabis with Mr Carboni.
He said the pair had been dropping off some cannabis in north Swindon, with Carboni driving.
Mr Cunnington claimed to police that he told Carboni to stop after the first collision with Mr and Mrs Kiley’s car, as they needed to check whether everyone was alright.
He then said that he saw Mr Kiley come out into the road from behind the parked cars, and said he was waving his arms around.
He said Mr Kiley could be seen quite clearly, and told Carboni to stop otherwise he would hit Mr Kiley – but he claims that instead of stopping, Carboni put his foot down.
Mr Cunnington said that Carboni continued driving away from the scene before ditching the car.
When he asked Carboni why he did not stop, the defendant said that he did not have a licence, Mr Cunnington claims.
The trial continues.
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