Two young men are to stand trial for the death of Leanne Davies last May, close to the Lion War Memorial. Leanne was a front seat passenger in the Corsa driven by 20 year-old Paul Reddan of Broadwell, when it hit the wall close to the war memorial and burst into flames, (as reported here on this website at the time). It is alleged Reddan, who was seriously injured in the accident and airlifted to Frenchay Hospital, was said to be racing along the A4136 Longhope bypass at high speed with another car, a Renault Clio driven by 18 year-old Matthew Creed, of Brierley. The two men appeared at Gloucester Crown Court accused of causing Leanne’s death by dangerous driving, and Creed also faces a charge of perjury. They are both pleading not guilty according to their lawyers, and have been bailed for the trial in October.
The judge, Jamie Tabor QC, was not very impressed that the case had taken so long to come to court. He was told that a series of errors meant that paperwork sent to the Criminal Justice Department had “got lost” twice, and that a lawyer had been heavily involved with the case of the M5 multiple crash in thick fog, near Taunton, and had not had time. Judge Tabor told the men that they were “very serious charges indeed. Very serious.”