Man sentenced to hospital order following fatal Wiltshire crash
42 year old Paul Barrett from Mere deliberately drove at a motorcyclist
Last updated 31st Jan 2023
A Wiltshire man's been sentenced for deliberately driving at a motorcyclist and killing him.
42 year old Paul Barrett from White Road in Mere has been sentenced at Winchester Crown Court today (Tuesday 31st January) to an indefinite hospital order under the Mental Health Act.
He previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
What happened?
Barrett was driving a Volkswagen Touran on the B3089 Hindon Road in Dinton on the evening of December 22nd 2021.
He saw a motorbike, ridden by Ryan Brindley, coming the other way.
Barrett turned his car around in a side road and chased Ryan at high speed before deliberately colliding with the back of his bike.
That caused Ryan to fall to the ground, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dash cam footage from Barrett's care was shown to the court during today's sentencing hearing.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Childe, from the Major Crime Investigation Team at Wiltshire Police, said:
“The killing of Ryan Brindley was an entirely random and unprovoked incident which has understandably caused shock and upset to the local community and all those who knew and loved Ryan.
“The dash cam footage shows Barrett driving up and down roads in Dinton before spotting Ryan riding his motorbike alone, and then turning his vehicle and reaching speeds of up to 80mph in a 30mph zone in order to catch up with him and knock him from his bike. 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 devastating loss, and thank them for the support they have shown during the police investigation. Ryan was taken from them in the cruellest of circumstances and my thoughts remain with them at this extremely difficult time.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the investigation team who have worked diligently on this case to ensure justice was served as swiftly as possible.”
In a victim impact statement, Ryan’s partner said:
“Ryan was a beautiful human being – he will be missed by so many. He was a deeply private man and although I understand there are many people who want to read and understand what happened, I would like to request that everybody, including the media, are respectful of Ryan’s remaining family and their privacy. I know that Ryan would be hating all the attention this case has brought.
“I would like to thank the police for their support and investigation all the way up to today. I want to thank the investigation team for being kind, gentle and understanding with us at every point, and I want to say thank you as we would not be here today if it wasn’t for the work of the investigation team.”