A man was deliberately run over and killed by a 4×4 car in retaliation for a brawl which had happened just moments before, a court has heard.
Jack Field, 24, was trying to escape when he was hit by a Mitsubishi Shogun in Hailsham, East Sussex which caused him to fall to the ground.
The car allegedly then ran over his head, crushing his skull and killing him instantly.
Police and paramedics rushed to the scene and found Jack lying on the ground with catastrophic head injuries and a large quantity of blood on the road.
Kyle Dumble, 27, was charged with the murder of Jack and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to another man, Jake Barry.
His brother Reece Dumble, 29, was charged with intimation and assault of a witness in the case.
The alleged incident late on Saturday November 18 2023.
Hove Crown Court heard Dumble had been driven to Western Road as a passenger in the Mitsubishi driven by his friend, Jimmy Stonestreet.
Jack Field was deliberately knocked down and killed by a 4×4 Mitsubishi Shogun
Kyle Dumble arriving at Lewes Crown Court. He is charged with murdering Jack and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to another man
Once there he left the black Mitsubishi and got into a Mini of a woman he knew named Nicola Patten.
The pair were sitting next to each other in the car while Mr Stonestreet turned his Mitsubishi around and parked alongside it.
The jury heard Jack had been out drinking with a group friends who had drunk a ‘considerable amount’ of alcohol and were returning home in ‘high spirits’, at around 11pm.
As they passed the parked Mitsubishi Mr Stonestreet allegedly shouted at Jake Barry ‘What are you staring at?’
He then left his 4×4 and approached Jake Barry, before a fight broke out between the pair.
Amy Packham, prosecuting, said Dumble got himself involved after seeing his friend in the brawl.
She said: ‘It was unexpected, it was unplanned. They didn’t even know the other young men involved, who had been drinking and who had clearly wound up Kyle’s friend, Jimmy Stonestreet.
‘In that moment Kyle Dumble had a decision to make – let his friend be outnumbered, or do something to help.
‘Kyle Dumble got out of the Mini and jumped into the driver’s seat of the Shogun. It was his decision then to use the vehicle as a weapon against the young men who were there.
‘Kyle Dumble drove the Mitsubishi at speed towards them and it went forwards appearing to knock into someone and then reversed and stopped. The fighting stopped and Mr Stonestreet got into the Mitsubishi passenger seat.’
Ms Packham said: ‘That’s where the incident could have ended. As a scuffle between young men in their 20s on a Saturday night out. And everyone could have gone home.
‘What happened next was totally deliberate and completely unnecessary. Once Jimmy Stonestreet was in the car Kyle Dumble continued to use the car to drive at the young men.
‘He reversed the Mitsubishi up Western Road and turned the steering wheel so he drove directly at the two men of the young men shielding themselves behind the transit van. This was Jake Barry and Jack Field.’
The jury heard Kyle reversed at speed from some distance, driving past a white transit van and then deliberately turning the car towards the young men hiding in the gap between the van and a red Vauxhall Astra.
Ms Packham continued: ’The Mitsubishi hit the edge of the red Vauxhall with such force that it pushed it round and onto the grassy area beyond the pavement and continued going backwards up onto the pavement.
‘The combination of the speed, the deliberate turning of the steering wheel to make the vehicle hit Jake Barry and Jake Field tell you this was no accident. In that manoeuvre Jake Barry was injured and Jack Field was knocked to the ground.
The court heard that Dumble got himself involved after witnessing his friend, Jimmy Stonestreet, in a fight with Jack and his friends
‘Jack was knocked to the ground and was lying with his head on the ground by the wheel of the Shogun.
‘The prosecution case is that Kyle Dumble used the Mitsubishi like a weapon, to hurt the people that were there and deliberately drove into and back over Jack Field killing him.
‘He either decided to kill Jack Field by deliberately driving over his head or decided to cause at least serious bodily harm when he drove to run both Jack Field and Jake Barry down.
‘When you drive a large heavy vehicle at human beings what else are you intending to do but cause them serious injury? A human being is no match for a 4×4.’
The court heard Dumble’s elder brother, Reece then intimidated and assaulted his ex-girlfriend, Lucy Honeyball, who is a witness in the trial.
After his tragic death Jack’s family described him as a ‘hero’ who was a ‘respectful gentleman.’
In a statement they said: ‘He was the most selfless, respectful gentleman who would do anything for anyone and always putting others before himself. He was everyone’s best friend, role model and hero.
‘He will never be able to be replaced and has left a gaping hole which will never be filled but we will hold him in our hearts forever. Darling Jack, we love you so much, goodbye for now baby boy.’
The trial continues.
