A thief who stole a vehicle that was involved in a fatal crash has been sent to prison for four years.
Paul Robert Barnes, 33, of Yarm, and another offender from Stockton-on-Tees broke into a property in a village near Northallerton, where they stole a Polaris off-road vehicle.
Barnes – who was the passenger – and his accomplice, who was 17 and was driving, crossed the A19 at a junction near Thimbleby.
During the manoeuvre, a van that was travelling along the A19 hit the stolen off-roader as they crossed paths.
Barnes managed to jump from the vehicle moments beforehand.
However, the male driving the stolen vehicle was thrown from it by the impact.
He was then hit by another car and died from his injuries.
Barnes was arrested and taken to hospital with minor injuries.
When he was searched officers also discovered a large number of class-C opioid drugs secreted inside him.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “The incident happened in July 2021 and resulted in an extensive police investigation that included forensic collision examination and other forensic tests, trawling CCTV evidence and taking a number of statements to establish exactly what happened and bring the suspect to court.”
Barnes pleaded guilty to burglary, aggravated TWOC (taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent) resulting in death and drug possession.
Today, a judge at Teesside Crown Court sentenced him to four years in prison and disqualified him from driving for a minimum of 37 months.
Speaking after the hearing, Sergeant Marie Williams of North Yorkshire Police’s Major Collision Investigation Team, said: “This was a horrific incident in which one driver lost his life and two others will always have to live with what happened.
“There are no winners from an investigation like this. But it’s right that Barnes has been brought to justice and sentenced by the courts today.”
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