Driving of man who killed Sheffield Good Samaritan ‘dangerous but not murder’, jury told

The driving of a man who killed Good Samaritan Chris Marriott when his car ploughed into the middle of a wedding brawl was "unquestionably dangerous" but it did not amount to murder, his lawyer told a jury.

Hassan Jhangur, 25, hit five people with his Seat Ibiza when he arrived at his sister's wedding reception in Sheffield, including Mr Marriott who had stopped to help and died from his injuries.

Sheffield Crown Court has heard how Jhangur first drove into the father of the rival Khan family, who was standing in the street, throwing him over the vehicle's bonnet.

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He then crashed into a group of four people, including Mr Marriott, who was walking past and went to help one of Jhangur's sisters as she was lying in the road.

Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday.placeholder image
Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday.

Jurors heard Mr Marriott was killed and the three others were injured including off-duty midwife Alison Norris , who had also gone to help, and Jhangur's own mother and sister.

The defendant then got out of the car and stabbed his new brother-in-law, Hasan Khan , several times.

Jhangur, of Whiteways Road, Sheffield , denies the murder and manslaughter of Mr Marriott but has pleaded guilty to causing Mr Marriott's death by dangerous driving.

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On Thursday, Richard Thyne KC, defending, told the jury his client's guilty plea to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving was an admission that what he did was "unquestionably dangerous" and this was a serious offence.

He told the jury: "What we fundamentally dispute on behalf of Hassan Jhangur is that you can be sure this was a deliberate collision."

Mr Thyne said that although the "unintended consequences" of Jhangur's dangerous driving were "terrible", "it was neither murder nor was it manslaughter".

The barrister said that, contrary to the prosecution case that his client was "fired up" and "looking for trouble" when he got out of the car following the collision, Jhangur was "in shock and was concerned".

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He told the jury that they could be sure that it was Hasan Khan who was "looking for trouble" and was armed with a baseball bat - a claim the prosecution disputes.

In his closing speech, Jason Pitter KC, prosecuting, told the jury it was clear that Jhangur had "just lost it" as he entered the cul-de-sac in the Burngreave area of Sheffield on December 27 2023.

Mr Pitter said these were the words the defendant had used to describe his own "terrible behaviour".

The prosecutor said the evidence was that Jhangur drove his car straight at Riasat Khan, the first person to be hit, who would have been "plainly visible".

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Mr Pitter said that the defendant would have had time to slow the car down but, instead, he "applied his accelerator to get him up the hill".

Turning to the alleged knife attack on Hasan Khan , Mr Pitter said: "This was not someone acting in reasonable self-defence but - to use his words - someone who had 'lost it'."

He said the defendant was "someone who plainly acted deliberately and had an intention to kill - what else could he have intended?"

Earlier in the trial, Mr Pitter said the "public spirit" of Mr Marriott and Ms Norris "brought them unwittingly into the midst of a family dispute", which had spilled into the street.

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Mr Pitter said a wedding between Amaani Jhangur and Hasan Khan , which had taken place that morning, "appears to have been at the heart of the tension".

The court heard that when Amaani Jhangur was at the Khan family home in College Court after the wedding, her mother Ambreen Jhangur and sister Nafeesa Jhangur arrived, and an increasingly "unpleasant" argument in the street escalated into violence, and led to Nafeesa Jhangur being rendered unconscious, probably by members of the Khan family.

Mr Marriott , who was out with his family on a post-Christmas walk, saw Nafeesa Jhangur lying in the road and decided to see whether he could help, while his wife and children returned home.

The court heard Jhangur had been told about his sister being injured, and arrived at the scene in a Seat Ibiza, driving into Hasan Khan's father Riasat Khan, before hitting the four others moments later.

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Jhangur has admitted causing serious injury to Alison Norris , Ambreen Jhangur, Nafeesa Jhangur and Riasat Khan by dangerous driving, but also pleaded not guilty to four charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He denies attempting to murder Hasan Khan and wounding him with intent.

His father, Mohammed Jhangur, 57, of Whiteways Road, Sheffield , denies a charge of perverting the course of justice, which relates to him allegedly concealing a knife.

The trial was adjourned until Tuesday when the judge, Mr Justice Morris , is expected to sum up the evidence.

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