Hit-and-run driver left boy, 7, to die in the road ‘like an animal’ then kept it secret from his WIFE and went to work

A HIT-and -run driver who left a seven-year-old boy to die in the road kept it from his wife and went to work following the accident, an inquest heard.

William Brown was playing football with two friends in his garden close to a busy main road near Folkestone, Kent on December 6 last year.

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The ball went into the road between 5pm and 5.30pm , and the youngster climbed out of the garden, running to get the ball.

He was struck by a Peugeot Expert van driven by Stewart Powell, 49, and the collision pushed him into the path of a Citeoen car.

William died of “catastrophic” head injuries at the scene.

The driver of the Citroen – a mum who had her three kids with her – called paramedics.

An ambulance was in traffic nearby and went to the scene, but nothing could be done to save the youngster.

Van driver Powell initially pulled over, before leaving the scene of the accident at Sandgate, Kent.

Powell called 999 the following day, telling officers “the whole f***ing thing just stressed me out” as he described how William ran out in front of him.

He had “completed a day’s work and was intending to tell his wife” – who brought the subject up to him first, causing him to break down and then call cops, the inquest heard on Friday.

Powell, from Romney Marsh, was arrested and later admitted driving without insurance and failing to stop at the scene of an accident at court in May.

He received 14 weeks imprisonment, suspended for a year, and was banned from driving for 12 months by Folkestone magistrates.

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William’s mother, Laura Brown, had previously slammed Powell for leaving her son in the road “like an animal” and said that he “deserved better”.

She said in a powerful victim impact statement: “Stewart stood watching the catastrophic incident unfold. He made a conscious decision to get back into his van and leave him.

“That behaviour is simply inhumane.

“We had to deal with the hammer blow someone hit him and left the scene.

“The not knowing who killed William tortured my mind. I was begging the van driver to come forward. Stewart’s actions prolonged suffering we were already enduring.”

The inquest into William’s death was told on Friday that Powell would not have been able to stop in time to avoid hitting the youngster.

Several witnesses came forward after the crash to report they had seen William and his ball in the road before the collision, the inquest heard.

Sergeant Mark Myers of Kent Police’s Forensic Collision Investigation Unit, told the inquest in Maidstone that if William had not stopped before entering the road, he would have only been visible to oncoming traffic for one second at a typical walking pace.

He said: “That’s one second that he would be visible to a driver. If William was running, that time would have been halved.”

Coroner Ms Hepburn asked the officer: “If William had come to a stop before coming into the path of the van this would have been extended?”

PS Myers replied: “That is correct. The likelihood would be the driver’s only response would be to come to a stop in his own lane.

“If the scenario took place as we explained when William was in the carriageway, the collision was unavoidable.

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“That hazard takes, from research, 1.5 to 2 seconds to stop.

“It is likely that Powell would have still been in the perception phase when the collision took place.”

Police Constable Darren Chapman told the inquest that Powell contacted police about his involvement in the crash the next day.

He told the inquest Powell was driving home when the collision with William took place.

He said: “Due to the shock he was in, he decided to travel home and stay at his house and had a restless night’s sleep before travelling to work the following morning.

“He completed a day’s work and was intending to tell his wife. She brought the subject up first which caused him to break down and then call the police.”

Concluding, Coroner Katrina Hepburn said of William’s death: “The evidence I have heard is that William is seen to have climbed out of the front garden and onto the road.

“It was seen that he had retrieved the ball at least once prior to the impact.

“At least one vehicle had braked to allow him to cross the road to retrieve the ball.

“It is noted that the football was kicked out again and landed on the road and went on to the other side of the carriageway – onto the southside with several parked cars.

“I find the William had left the garden again and the evidence suggested he was able to cross over the carriageway to get over to the ball.”

Ms Hepburn added: “He has stepped out from behind the parked vehicles.

“He seems to have come into contact with the van and caused himself to be thrown into the opposite carriageway and into the path of the red Citroen.

“The van driver stopped and looked back and acknowledge he had struck a child – but was in shock and left the scene.”

She said the Citroen driver had stopped at the scene and contacted emergency services – but there was an ambulance nearby.

The coroner added: “Very sadly, the lifesaving attempts were futile. William had sustained catastrophic injuries and he was pronounced dead at 6.18pm.

“The conclusion then, taking this all together, is there is no clear footage or witness accounts of what exactly what happened.

“He crossed the road and whilst returning to his home address, he stepped out from between parked cars into the path of an oncoming van.

“Sadly he has come into the path of the oncoming van which has been unable to avoid the collision.

“There would be insufficient time for him to have reacted. There would have been even less time if William had been running.

“I think it likely to be the case that, at seven years old, William would not have appreciated the danger of crossing the road.

“As William was not in the car, I think that the more appropriate conclusion is simply one of accident.”

William’s parents Laura, 41, and William Brown Snr, 35, say they have forgiven Powell.

Ms Brown was granted special permission from His Majesty King Charles to bury her son in the closed cemetery at the Church of St Mary & St Eanswythe.

The burial required the permission of the King’s Privy Council to be allowed – which was granted ahead of William’s funeral on January 14.

William was the first person to be laid to rest in the yard since 1855.

The churchyard where William is buried stands next to St Eanswythe’s Primary School where he attended.