Driver admits causing deaths of teenagers

A woman holding a walking stick links arms with a man wearing a suit as they leave a court building, with the man holding a phone in his hand
Dhiya Al Maamoury, 56, changed his plea to guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court [Stephanie Wareham, PA Media]

A man who was due to face trial has admitted causing the death of two teenagers and seriously injuring two others after a car ploughed into a group of people.

Liberty Charris, 16, and Ben Corfield, 19, died after a blue Nissan Skyline hit several pedestrians gathered on the A457 Oldbury Road in Oldbury, at about 23:30 GMT on 20 November 2022.

Dhiya Al Maamoury, 56, changed his plea to guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday.

He held his head in his hands as the families of the teenage victims, who were both from Dudley, passed the dock.

Al Maamoury, from Solihull, was facing trial after pleading not guilty in March to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Ms Charris and Mr Corfield, who were friends, died as a result of the crash, with two other teenagers seriously injured in the collision.

Ethan Kilburn suffered a fractured pelvis, foot and right arm while Ebonie Parkes was left with fractured ribs, hips, leg and shoulder and a collapsed lung.

Two images: on the left, a teenage girl with brown hair and sunglasses pushed up on her head smiles at the camera; on the right a teenage boy grins at the camera with a smile that shows his teeth. A West Midlands Police logo is in the bottom right corner.
Liberty Charris, 16, and Ben Corfield, 19, were killed after a car hit a group of pedestrians in Oldbury [Family/West Midlands Police]

The court room was packed with the families and friends of Ms Charris and Mr Corfield, some of whom cried as Al Maamoury, who looked sombre in the dock, listened to proceedings through an Arabic interpreter.

He spoke only to enter his new pleas and to confirm his name.

While the facts of the case were not opened during the brief hearing, defence counsel Balbir Singh said the period of the defendant's dangerous driving was "very limited" as he was "coming out of a roundabout and accelerating" just before the collision.

Dhiya Al Maamoury, who stares at the camera, with grey hair and light stubble. The picture is a close-up of his face, which is in front of a grey background.
Dhiya Al Maamoury looked sombre in the dock on Monday [West Midlands Police]

Judge Michael Chambers KC imposed an interim driving ban on Al Maamoury until he is sentenced on 8 November.

The 56-year-old was granted bail on the same conditions that were previously put in place - that he live and sleep at his home address and surrender his passport.

Judge Chambers said the case "clearly crosses the custody threshold" but praised the defendant's "courage" for pleading guilty.

He said: "You should not be under any illusion over the likely sentence."

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