A HORRIFIED dad was heard screaming “my boy, my boy” after his four-year-old son was brutally dragged under the wheels of a neighbour’s minibus and killed.

Four-year-old Jayden Kearns was struck by the vehicle at around 4.35pm on March 26 last year when he was riding his bike.

He had been playing outside his home in New Rough Hey in Preston with other children, including the son of Chris Cleaver – the driver involved in the collision.

Mr Cleaver, who operates a school run service for children with special needs, was returning home from work.

Jayden’s grandmother, Kathleen Yates, was in her daughter Gemma’s home at the time, having brought Jayden home from the childminder.

When Mrs Yates heard Mr Cleaver enter the cul-de-sac she thought to herself “you k***head” as she believed he was driving too fast.

Mr Cleaver initially pulled over his Citroen Relay to speak to his own children before telling them he would park up and come out and play. The driver checked his mirrors and set off before hearing a “loud crunching sound”.

Neighbour Derek Winstanley also heard the collision. “I heard a loud crunching sound and I could see little Jayden being dragged under the wheels. Chris jumped out and picked up Jayden.

“I knew straightaway that it was serious. It looked like the life had gone out of him.”

I knew straightaway that it was serious. It looked like the life had gone out of him

Derek Winstanley

Neighbours ran out of their homes to help while Mr Cleaver sat at the side of the road crying and with his head in his hands. Jayden’s grandmother Kathleen Yates shouted to him: “What have you done to my grandson?”

Jayden’s dad Iaran Kearns raced out of his home wearing only a towel, having been in the shower at the time of the crash, screaming: “My boy, my boy, help my boy.”

Jayden was given a blood transfusion at the scene and taken to the Royal Preston Hospital by ambulance under police escort.

He had suffered serious head and chest injuries and was in cardiac arrest on arrival at the hospital.

After Jayden failed to respond to treatment efforts he was pronounced dead at 5.50pm. The cause of death was recorded as chest trauma.

An inquest into Jayden’s death, held on Friday, January 17 at Preston Coroner’s Court, heard that Mr Cleaver subsequently passed a roadside drug and alcohol test as well as a field impairment test and eyesight assessment.

When he was interviewed under caution by police he maintained that he had checked his surroundings before setting off in the seconds prior to the collision but that his view was affected by a wheelchair ramp inside the minibus.

I heard a loud crunching sound and I could see little Jayden being dragged under the wheels

Derek Winstanley

Collision investigator PC Rachel Carbery explained that the vehicle had a “significant blind spot” which would have restricted Mr Cleaver’s view of Jayden. Police used a mannequin to reconstruct the collision as well as viewing footage of the crash caught on camera.

PC Carbery was asked if Mr Cleaver had entered the cul-de-sac “at excessive speed”.

She said: “From the CCTV that shows him entering New Rough Hey he has travelled in there and in my opinion it wasn’t fast. It would be of the speed I would expect.”

Dad-of-five Mr Cleaver, who no longer lives in New Rough Hey, passed his driving test in 2012.

He had worked for 247 Group Ltd, transporting children with special needs to and from their homes and Acorns Primary School in Preston.

Mr Cleaver did not attend the inquest but his solicitor passed on his condolences to Jayden’s family. Jayden’s grandmother Kathleen Yates replied: “I’m sorry but we don’t want it.”

He was amazing; a nanna’s boy

Kathleen Yates

Since Jayden’s death his parents and sister have not been able to return to their family home. Mrs Yates said the family’s “whole world has been ripped apart”.

The inquest heard that Jayden was a fan of Paw Patrol and Spiderman. He was particularly close to his grandma who said: “He was amazing; a nanna’s boy.”

Police launched a criminal investigation to consider whether Mr Cleaver had committed the offence of causing death by careless driving. The investigation later concluded there was no evidence any offences had been committed.

Sergeant Matt Davidson said: “We would need to show his standard of driving fell below what would have been expected. From our investigation that was just not found to be the case.”

Before Area Coroner Kate Bisset concluded the inquest she asked Jayden’s nanna if there was anything she wanted to say. “I can’t believe that k***head can get away with it,” Mrs Yates said.

Ms Bisset returned a conclusion of road traffic collision and said: “There are no circumstances that evidentially indicated that I need to refer this back to the Crown Prosecution Service.

“Jayden Paul Anthony Kearns died on March 26, 2023, at the Royal Preston Hospital as a result of injuries sustained in a road traffic collision at New Rough Hey.”