Mother who was ‘rammed' off e-bike sometimes supplied drugs, murder trial told
Jurors at Derby Crown Court were told that 25-year-old Alana Armstrong bought the Sur-Ron off-road electric bike for her boyfriend, which is not legal for road use and is known to be a 'drug-dealing type' bike.
Ms Armstrong, who had one child, could 'barely' fit on the back of the saddle and was not wearing a helmet when the Land Rover Discovery allegedly ploughed into her in Batley Lane, Pleasley, Derbyshire, just after 8pm on November 26 last year.
Keaton Muldoon, 23, who the court was told was a drug dealer, denies her murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Ms Armstrong's boyfriend Jordan Newton-Kay, whose right leg was amputated 15cm above the knee after the crash.
The defendant, of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving before the trial, the jury was told by prosecutor Sally Howes KC.
The court heard that Mr Newton-Kay was riding his black, orange and blue off-road bike with Ms Armstrong on the back that evening, while a friend was on another bike.
The jury heard that the three stopped at a lay-by in Sampsons Lane, near Pleasley, where the Land Rover was parked, and no words were exchanged before the vehicle spun around and 'chased' them down the country lane.
On Friday, Adrian Langdale KC, defending Muldoon, cross-examined Mr Newton-Kay, who said his girlfriend of four years 'sometimes' supplied cannabis which he drove her around to deliver.
The court heard that before the fatal collision, Ms Armstrong, from Tibshelf, received a message asking if she was available for a 'drop off', but Mr Newton-Kay said he was 'unsure' if they were going to deliver cannabis that evening.
Mr Newton-Kay denied that he thought the 4×4 parked in the field was a police vehicle.
He also denied wearing a balaclava on the evening of the incident and told the court he had not been doing wheelies and pulling out on other drivers before the collision.
Mr Newton-Kay admitted he had smoked cannabis that day, but denied that influenced his recollection of events.
Mr Langdale asked the witness: 'If two people pull up on a dark lane on what appears to be drug-dealing bikes, dressed all in black with masks on – that might be scary for a young man who knows the association, do you agree?', to which Mr Newton-Kay replied: 'Yes.'
Mr Langdale asked the witness, who gave evidence from behind a curtain, whether the bike is designed to carry two people, to which Mr Newton-Kay said: 'No.'
The barrister continued: 'You don't have any helmets on, neither of you. You seemed to suggest to police you didn't, as a general policy, wear helmets.
'You also suggested to the police you would drive, wherever you went, at maximum speed. Forty-six miles an hour to be precise.
'You were suggesting, with no seatbelts, no helmets, no safety gear at all, no brake lights, you were travelling at that speed.'
Mr Newton-Kay replied: 'Yes.'
The barrister asked: 'Did you seriously think that was a safe way to travel?' to which the witness responded: 'No, but I went trail to trail. I was not on roads much.'
Mr Langdale added: 'You have taken the restrictor off of it (the bike) which stops it going above the legal speed limit for that bike. When I say legal speed limit I mean the off-road limit, to make it go faster.'
The jury heard that the 4×4 made five attempts to hit the bike and 'kept dropping back' before it came 'out of nowhere' and knocked the couple off the bike on the fifth try.
Mr Langdale said: 'A two-tonne vehicle is making contact with you going, you say, 46 miles an hour four times and not once do you come off or lose control.
'You would be off and in a hedge is what I'm suggesting to you. Your account of there being four previous rammings… is simply not right, did not happen.
'You have no real memory of how you came off the bike. You undoubtedly came into contact with the car but it was not by him ramming you deliberately.'
Mr Newton-Kay replied: 'He deliberately chased me, deliberately rammed me, and left us for dead.'
The trial continues.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Man dies and three injured in two-car Sheriff Hutton crash
A man died and three people were hospitalised following a collision between two cars near York on Saturday night, police fatally injured 44-year-old was a passenger in a Toyota Hilux travelling southbound on Sheriff Hutton Road, between Sheriff Hutton and services were called to reports of a "serious collision" at 23:10 BST, according to North Yorkshire Police.A black Land Rover Defender travelling northbound was the second vehicle involved. The driver of the Hilux and both occupants of the Land Rover were seriously injured, the force said. Police appealed for witnesses to the crash, adding that the road was closed as a result of the incident until Sunday afternoon. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Metro
2 days ago
- Metro
'Drug dealer' killed mum-of-one after knocking her off e-bike with Land Rover
A driver has been found not guilty of murder after he hit and killed a woman and seriously injured her partner with his car. Keaton Muldoon hit 25-year-old Alana Armstrong and Jordan Newton-Kay with his Land Rover Discovery on a country lane in Pleasley, Derbyshire. The couple were riding on an electric motorbike together last November 26. Alana, a 25-year-old mum of one, died at the scene while her partner Jordan had his right leg amputated 15cm above the knee after the crash. Muldoon, 23, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving before his trial began. Muldoon, who the court heard was a drug dealer, told the jury he 'did not know' he had hit anyone with his car. He said he thought he'd overtaken Mr Newton-Kay's e-bike at a passing point. The prosecution claimed Muldoon 'pursued' the couple, as well as another electric bike ridden by one of Mr Newton-Kay's friends, after they stopped near his 4×4 in a lay-by. CCTV showed the Land Rover following both e-bikes before ramming into one of the bikes and driving away without stopping. But following a trial at Derby crown court he was found not guilty of murder and of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He also admitted lying to police, saying his uncle was in possession of the Land Rover at the time of the crash because he was 'scared' about the murder investigation. Muldoon had only recently become a father at the time of the crash and told the court: 'My head was all over, I didn't know what to think. 'I knew I wasn't going to see my children for a bit. I just had a newborn baby. I promised I would always be there.' A sentencing date for Muldoon has not yet been set. Speaking after the verdict, Detective Constable Stevie Barker said: 'Alana was just 25 when she died, leaving her son without his mum, and her family grieving the loss of a young woman who had so much life ahead of her. More Trending 'The consequences of Muldoon's behaviour on that night have led to the death of Alana and a lifetime of grief for her family. In addition, Jordan, the rider of the bike, also suffered life-changing injuries. 'He then didn't even have the decency to admit what he had done in interview, instead trying to put the blame on someone else. It was months later before he accepted that he was the driver of the vehicle. 'My thoughts – and those of all of the officers involved in this tragic case- remain with the families of Alana and Jordan.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: 'I beat the system and proved I didn't need a TV licence' MORE: 'Swan Whisperer' banned from Hyde Park after residents objected to him kissing the birds MORE: Man found 'tortured' to death in home was bound by ankles, court hears
Rhyl Journal
3 days ago
- Rhyl Journal
Driver found not guilty of murdering mother who was knocked off e-bike
Keaton Muldoon, 23, was alleged to have murdered 25-year-old Alana Armstrong – who died at the scene in Batley Lane, Pleasley, Derbyshire – but was found not guilty by a jury at Derby Crown Court on Thursday, the court said. He was also cleared of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Ms Armstrong's boyfriend Jordan Newton-Kay, who had his right leg amputated 15cm above the knee after the crash. Muldoon, of Tuckers Lane, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving before his trial began in May. His sentencing date has not been fixed by the court. Muldoon, who the court heard was a drug dealer, told the jury of 11 women and one man on Tuesday that he 'did not know' he had hit anyone while driving his Land Rover Discovery on the evening of November 26 last year, and thought he had overtaken Mr Newton-Kay's bike at a passing point. The prosecution alleged that Muldoon 'pursued' the couple, and another electric bike ridden by a friend of Mr Newton-Kay, after they stopped near the defendant's 4×4 at a lay-by. The defendant told the court he feared he was going to be robbed but did not 'chase' the Sur-Ron off-road bike for more than a mile from the lay-by in Sampsons Lane, Pleasley. Muldoon, who was father to a newborn baby at the time of the collision, told the court he lied to police that his uncle had possession of the Land Rover at the time of the collision because he was 'scared' about the murder investigation. He told the jury earlier this week: 'My head was all over, I didn't know what to think. 'I knew I wasn't going to see my children for a bit. I just had a newborn baby. I promised I would always be there.'
