Mere man admits manslaughter of motorcyclist in Dinton
Paul Barrett will be sentenced in January
A man from Mere has admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility, after deliberately crashing into a motorcyclist, and killing him, in Dinton.
43 year old Paul Barrett, of White Road, entered his plea at Winchester Crown Court today (Tuesday 20th December).
He's been remanded in custody until his sentencing, on a date to be fixed in January.
What happened?
Barratt was involved in a collision on the B3089 Hindon Road in Dinton at around 7.30pn on December 22nd 2021.
He was meant to be going to Wilton for a pre-arranged appointment, but dash cam footage showed he travelled through Dinton village several times, at speeds of up to 80mph in a 30mph zone.
He saw a motorbike, ridden by 42 year old Ryan Brindley, going in the opposite direction and turned around to follow him.
Barratt's car struck the back of the bike, pushed it along the road and knocked Ryan from it.
He died at the scene.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Childe, from the Major Crime Investigation Team, said:
“The killing of Ryan Brindley appears to have been an entirely random and unprovoked incident.
“When we were able to watch the dash cam footage from the car Barrett was driving, it was clear that he was driving around the Dinton area and then changed direction to follow Ryan when he spotted his motorcycle.
“We do not believe they were known to each other, or that there had been any previous interaction between the pair. It seems that Ryan was targeted entirely at random.
“I would like to pay tribute to Ryan’s family who have suffered such a sad loss, and thank them for the support they have shown during the police investigation. It is almost exactly a year to the day that Ryan was taken from them in the cruellest of circumstances and my thoughts remain with them at this extremely difficult time.”