A man has been convicted of causing the deaths of two young men after colliding with their e-bike while driving his black pickup truck the wrong way down a motorway slip road. Alex Rose struck William Birchard and Darren George as they were returning home from a pub on a single electric bike in the early hours of July 22 last year in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey.
The incident occurred when Rose, 30, believed his home was being burgled and enlisted Birchard and George’s help to investigate. Subsequently, Rose allegedly rammed his pickup truck into the e-bike, causing the victims to fall off, before driving back past them without stopping to assist.
Prosecutors contended that Rose, along with his friends Charles Pardoe and Samuel Aspden, pursued Birchard and George with the intent to harm them, leading to the fatal collision. While Birchard succumbed to his injuries at the scene, George suffered severe head injuries and later passed away in the hospital.
After a trial at Guildford Crown Court, Rose and Pardoe were found guilty of two counts of murder, while Knaggs, Rose’s girlfriend, was convicted of assisting an offender. Aspden, another friend involved in the incident, was acquitted of the murder charges.
The tragic event unfolded as a result of Rose’s misguided belief that the victims were potential burglars, leading to a fatal confrontation that claimed the lives of Birchard and George. The court concluded that the deliberate actions of Rose, using his vehicle as a weapon, resulted in the devastating outcome, with Pardoe being complicit in the pursuit that led to the fatal collision.