Dad who died returning from conker trip with son

8:00am Monday 13th October 2008

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By Will Roberts »

A YOUNG father died and his two-year-old son was seriously injured when they were hit by a car fleeing from a theft at a nearby supermarket.

Bryan Hardwick, 26, of Proudfoot Drive, Woodhouse Close Estate, Bishop Auckland, was returning from collecting conkers with his two children, Liam, two, and Brogan, three, and a group of friends when the car ploughed into them on the Bishop Auckland bypass.

Close friend David Weatherburn, 40, was also seriously injured in the accident, which happened as the group waited to cross the A688 at a traffic island near the junction with South Church Industrial Estate.

At 4.50pm on Saturday a white Rover 45, travelling south-west towards the Aldi roundabout, swerved off the road, hitting Mr Weatherburn and Mr Hardwick, who was pushing Liam in a pushchair.

The car then struck a small tree before careering into a ditch at the side of the road.

A police spokeswoman said last night: “It is believed that shortly before the incident the occupants of the vehicle were involved in a theft at the Asda supermarket in South Church Road, Bishop Auckland.”

Mr Hardwick had taken Liam and Brogan to collect conkers at a nearby cemetery next to the River Gaunless.

He was with Mr Weatherburn, Mark Elliot, his 11-yearold son, Aaron, and his friend, Paul Jordan, also 11.

Last night, Mr Elliot said that a car had slowed down to allow the group to cross to the traffic island in the middle of the road, but the white Rover overtook it and hit the two men and the pushchair.

Eyewitnesses, who said the car was not being pursued by police at the time, said that two people who had been in the front seats of the car ran off south towards the River Gaunless.

The two passengers in the back seats had to be cut free by firefighters.

Mr Hardwick was taken by ambulance to the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City, but died later from his injuries.

Liam suffered head injuries and was taken by the Great North Air Ambulance to The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough.

Last night, doctors described his condition as serious but stable. Mr Weatherburn, also from Bishop Auckland, is in Darlington Memorial Hospital, where his condition was described as serious.

A 14-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man, who were in the back of the car, were taken to Newcastle General Hospital and The James Cook University Hospital, respectively, with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. Kenneth Clarey, who lives in Shawbrow Road, near where the accident happened, said: “I was in my back garden and I heard the bang, so I went to look over the fence.

“I could not see a car, because it would have been down in the ditch.

“All I could see was a pushchair and a plastic bag full of conkers on the side of the road. There were people on the phone and some cars had pulled over.

“Within a matter of seconds there were police and ambulances, so you have to give them praise for a really, really quick response.”

Two Bishop Auckland men, a 26- year-old and an 18-year-old, have been arrested in relation to the incident.

Mr Hardwick was engaged to Liam and Brogan’s mother, 21-year-old Kayleigh Sanderson, who yesterday described her fiance as “a loving father who lived for his children”.

Detective Inspector Billy Hugill said: “I would urge anyone who saw this vehicle travelling between South Church Road and the scene of the collision on the bypass between the roundabout at St Andrew’s Church and the Kwik Save (now Aldi) roundabout to contact us.”

The A688 was closed for several hours to allow invesigators to examine the scene.

Police also cordoned off a 300-metre stretch of grass between the A688 and Shawbrow Road to allow police helicopters and the Great North Air Ambulance to land.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0345-60-60-365 or the accident investigations unit on 0191-375-2159.

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