Man denies encouraging brother to drive dangerously before fatal Welshpool crash, jury told

A man has denied encouraging his brother to engage in dangerous driving or to race moments before a tragic collision that resulted in the death of a father-of-two and left the son critically injured. The crash occurred on the A483 near Welshpool in November 2024, claiming the life of Rhys Jenkins from Deuddwr, Powys, who was pronounced dead at the scene. His nine-year-old son, Ioan, was seriously hurt and airlifted to a hospital in Liverpool.

Umar Ben Yusaf, aged 35, along with his brother Abubakr Ben Yusaf, 31, are both facing charges of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving. In addition, Abubakr is charged with causing death while driving uninsured. During proceedings at Mold Crown Court, Umar Ben Yusaf explained that both brothers worked as locum optometrists and had been living together in a flat in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion. On the evening of November 16, 2024, they were driving separately back to their family home in Manchester.

Umar stated that he left their shared flat before his brother and that they neither communicated nor tracked each other while driving. When questioned on whether there had been any plan to race, he firmly denied it. Despite Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data indicating that his blue Audi A4 was about six seconds behind his brother’s red BMW X3 at the Newtown bypass in Powys, Umar maintained that he never saw his brother’s car. His barrister asked, “Were you racing at that point?” to which Umar responded, “I was not racing at any time.”

He admitted overtaking vehicles during the journey but insisted that all overtakes were carried out safely. After watching dashcam footage, he acknowledged overtaking a vehicle just twenty seconds after his brother had done so but claimed he did not witness his brother overtaking ahead of him. Umar described a moment when he saw a car ahead weaving side to side, eventually losing control and hitting the verge, causing the vehicle to spin sideways. He recounted hearing a loud noise but could not recall seeing the car collide with another vehicle. He expressed that he was frightened when witnessing the losing control of the car and began slowing down.

Umar then stopped his vehicle and walked over to the scene, where he saw his brother inside the BMW and exchanged eye contact, instructing him not to move. He then approached the other damaged vehicle and called out, receiving no response from the driver. Overcome with emotion in court, Umar recounted how a bystander helped carry an unconscious child from the passenger seat and laid the child on the grass verge. More people arrived on the scene while he checked on his brother, who appeared disoriented and confused, prompting Umar to feel anxious about his brother’s condition. Despite the chaos, Umar did not call emergency services immediately but instead drove toward Welshpool and called his older brother to report the accident and his intention to reach a hospital.

He stopped briefly at a Tesco store before being advised by his older brother to return to the accident site, where ambulances would have arrived. On their way back, Umar’s car was stopped by a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), to whom he explained the accident had been caused by debris and mud on the road. Shortly after, he sent a text message to his older brother saying he feared arrest. When questioned about why he gave a “no comment” interview to the police, Umar said this was on the advice of his duty solicitor and that he believed it was right to “trust a professional in their expertise.”

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More