Amputee killed as burglar made off in his Mercedes, court told
Marc Allen, 50, disturbed the intruder at his property in Erith, south-east London, who then snatched the keys to his car.
An amputee was run down and killed by his own Mercedes car while trying to stop a burglar from driving off with it, a court has heard.
Marc Allen, 50, disturbed the intruder at his property in Erith, south-east London, who then snatched the keys to his vehicle and made off in the early hours of December 29 2019, the Old Bailey was told.
When he tried to stop the theft, the car was used “as a weapon” to run him over, prosecutor Anthony Orchard KC told jurors on Tuesday.
Neighbours found Mr Allen on the road with a severe head injury, from which he died a month later, having never regained consciousness.
Errol Woodger, 38, of Belvedere, south-east London, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of Mr Allen’s murder and robbing him of his car.
Jurors were told Mr Allen’s lower right leg was amputated as a result of a previous illness and he used a prosthetic limb.
His car, a grey Mercedes GLA, had been supplied by a Motability Car Scheme and was parked in the forecourt at the time it was stolen.
Outlining the case, Mr Orchard told jurors that Mr Allen had been in his ground floor flat on Peareswood Road when a man was caught on CCTV outside.
The man climbed over a low wall and got on to a neighbouring unoccupied flat through a window, the prosecutor said.
Mr Orchard said the victim appeared to be watching television or sleeping when he became aware of someone leaving the nearby flat or in the communal hallway.
He must have put on his prosthetic leg before going to the front door, he said.
Mr Orchard said: “Within minutes Marc Allen’s Mercedes was being stolen. His car keys had been taken. You can be sure he wouldn’t have handed them over voluntarily.”
Neighbour Linda Rumsey allegedly heard shouts of “That’s my car. You aren’t taking my car”, and saw Mr Allen standing by the back of the car on the driveway.
The car engine revved several times and Mr Allen may have suffered a “glancing blow” as the vehicle reversed quickly out of the parking spot, jurors were told.
Mr Allen then stood in the middle of the road with his hands up and saying: “That’s my car,” jurors were told.
Seconds later, the car was seen to rev forward “at speed” and hit Mr Allen, who made contact with the bonnet and went over the roof, jurors heard.
Ms Rumsey recalled: “He slid down the back of the boot and his head went bang when it hit the floor, I heard his head crack, it sent a shiver through me.
“Whoever was in that car was intent on taking it, nothing was going to stop him.”
Other neighbours heard Mr Allen shout “oi” several times and a car screeching.
Louise Hamilton saw him on the ground and rushed outside to help, jurors were told.
She noted Mr Allen had a “golf ball size” bump on the back of his head and a similar one above his eye, as well as injuries to his chin, forearm and hands.
His prosthetic leg had a trainer on it but his other leg was bare, suggesting he was in a rush, leaving his other trainer by his sofa, the court was told.
Emergency services were called at 2.53am and Mr Allen was taken to King’s College Hospital where he died on January 29, 2020.
Jurors were told his stolen Mercedes was found by police two days after it was taken, on a driveway on the Isle of Dogs in east London.
Woodger was arrested on May 28, 2020 and gave a statement denying involvement in Mr Allen’s death, saying: “I was nowhere near the scene of the crime at the time the victim was attacked.”
He told police that on the day of the murder, he was attacked and injured by eight males on his way to his mother’s house in Greenwich and taken to hospital, where he remained for a month.
Police confirmed he had been seriously assaulted that afternoon but that it happened 12 hours after the robbery and killing, Mr Orchard said.
He suggested the assault on the defendant was “not a random act of violence but was related” to the robbery.
Following a police review of the case, further lines of inquiry were pursued last year when the defendant was allegedly forensically linked to three items from the stolen car.
Woodger was re-arrested after his fingerprints were identified on a plastic box and water bottle found under the front passenger seat and his DNA was discovered on a cigarette, jurors were told.
The defendant has denied the charges against him and the trial continues.
