BREAKING: Killer who drove into group of friends that argued with his cyclist son is jailed
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A father and son have both been jailed over a "revenge" hit and run that killed a man as he walked home with friends. Martin Breeze was convicted of murder and his son Shaun Breeze of manslaughter after Brian Darby was mown down and killed in Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, in February, last year. The murder trial had heard Mr Darby, 60, was walking home with friends after a night out when Martin Breeze drove into them, in retaliation for their remonstrating with his son for riding his bike through them.
Mr Darby was with a 17-year-old boy, a 50-year-old woman and two other men walking home after enjoying a night out at a café-bar when Shaun, 30, barged through them while riding a bike, out looking for drugs. When the group remonstrated with him, Breeze gave the impression he was carrying a knife. The three men gave chase, Breeze collided with another pedestrian and fell off his bike, before running off while calling his 57-year-old father.
Martin Breeze was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 32 years in custody for the murder of Mr Darby and the attempted murder of four other victims. Shaun Breeze was jailed for 16 years. Martin Breeze, was at home when he got the call, but jumped in his van and was captured on CCTV driving at speed to pick up his son. The pair then drove together and spotted the group of friends. They drove the van at them, leaving the carriageway, mounting a grass verge, ploughing across a cycle path before deliberately mowing them down on the footpath. The impact caused the windscreen to shatter and one of the victims to be thrown in the air.
