Driver not guilty of causing man's car fall death

A driver accused of accelerating before braking sharply while a man was on the bonnet of his car has been found not guilty of causing his death by dangerous driving.

Jordan Thomas, 29, fell from the front of Jackson Paul's car in Onchan on 25 February 2024.

The trial heard Paul, 37, had been driving on Harbour Road when Thomas got onto the bonnet of his BMW and started pulling at the windscreen wipers and punching the windscreen.

Thomas suffered severe injuries from the fall and died in Aintree Hospital in Liverpool nine days later.

The jury heard Thomas had been seen climbing onto the front of another car on Harbour Road shortly before the incident involving Paul.

Delivering the prosecution's closing address on Wednesday, Roger Kane said: "If ever there was said to be a case where there are no winners, only losers, this is it."

He had argued Paul's reaction to the events had been unreasonable and his subsequent driving had been dangerous.

However, defence advocate Nick Johnson KC said Paul had reacted in fear after Thomas had punched the windscreen.

The jury found Paul not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving after the trial at Douglas Courthouse.

Deemster Sandeep Kainth thanked members of both families in the public gallery for the restraint they had shown and their dignity throughout the proceedings.

Paul was previously convicted of causing Thomas' death by dangerous driving after a trial in February last year, however that conviction was quashed after an appeal and a retrial was ordered in January.

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