A father and son who killed a four-year-old boy and left his father paralysed in a drunken road rage crash have been jailed. Owen Maughan, 27, and his father Patrick Maughan, 54, were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court after ramming a family vehicle in Northfleet, Kent, on June 1 last year.
The crash killed Peter Maughan, aged four, who was thrown from the vehicle. His father, Lovell Mahon, suffered a skull fracture and is now unable to walk. The court heard that Owen and Patrick had been drinking heavily before the incident, with Owen consuming around 12 bottles of alcohol and Patrick drinking 13 pints over six and a half hours.
Dashcam footage showed the pair chasing the family's pick-up truck for several miles along the A2 before Owen swerved into the wrong lane and clipped the vehicle at around 60mph, causing it to roll over three times. Peter's mother described the 'horror' of finding his packed lunch and shoes ready for the next school day after his death.
Judge Oliver Saxby KC told Owen Maughan: 'You were angry he had not stopped and wanted to teach him a lesson. You were never going to stop, you didn't care what happened to Lovell Mahon and his family.' The pair were cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter. Owen was jailed for over 12 years and Patrick for 18 years, and both were disqualified from driving after release.
