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| Death crash man's 'incompetence' | Death crash man's 'incompetence' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A man who crashed his Land Rover into a river, killing four of his seven children, carried out "incompetent" changes to the car, a court heard. | A man who crashed his Land Rover into a river, killing four of his seven children, carried out "incompetent" changes to the car, a court heard. |
| Nigel Gresham, 37, of Witham Drive, Chapel Hill, has pleaded not guilty at Lincoln Crown Court to causing the deaths by dangerous driving. | Nigel Gresham, 37, of Witham Drive, Chapel Hill, has pleaded not guilty at Lincoln Crown Court to causing the deaths by dangerous driving. |
| His children Willow, two, Angel, four, Thor, six, and Keavy, eight, died when their car went into the River Witham. | His children Willow, two, Angel, four, Thor, six, and Keavy, eight, died when their car went into the River Witham. |
| It happened on 16 September 2007 at Tattershall Bridge near Coningsby. | It happened on 16 September 2007 at Tattershall Bridge near Coningsby. |
| Timothy Spencer QC, prosecuting, said Mr Gresham was driving a vehicle he had owned for about four years and had carried out a number of modifications to it. | Timothy Spencer QC, prosecuting, said Mr Gresham was driving a vehicle he had owned for about four years and had carried out a number of modifications to it. |
| Worn brake pedal | |
| "His major pastime was driving it off-road and it may be that a number of the modifications were intended to assist him with that. Sadly they didn't assist him with driving on-road." | "His major pastime was driving it off-road and it may be that a number of the modifications were intended to assist him with that. Sadly they didn't assist him with driving on-road." |
| The jury was shown a DVD of road tests carried out on the Land Rover at RAF Scampton which found that the calliper on the offside front brake was bigger than the one on the nearside while the brake pedal was also worn. | The jury was shown a DVD of road tests carried out on the Land Rover at RAF Scampton which found that the calliper on the offside front brake was bigger than the one on the nearside while the brake pedal was also worn. |
| "Sometimes the vehicle would stop straight but other times it would lock and grab erratically," Mr Spencer added. | "Sometimes the vehicle would stop straight but other times it would lock and grab erratically," Mr Spencer added. |
| Other drivers had seen the Land Rover speed past them before the fatal crash. It was thought to be travelling at between 50 and 60 mph (80 to 96 kph). | |
| Mr Spencer said: "Having passed a Clio in front of him, it then swerved towards its offside towards the river and rolled over, tumbling down the bank into the Witham. | |
| "Some of the occupants, including Mr Gresham the driver, got themselves out of the vehicle. Eventually all of the occupants were pulled out but in the case of four of them, sadly it was too late." | |
| The court heard that the Land Rover had passed an MoT in February - seven months before the crash. | |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |