A 19-year-old aspiring medical student was fatally struck on a pedestrian crossing in Leeds by a car travelling at nearly three times the legal speed limit, a court has heard. Ashton Kitchen-White, who had secured a place to study medicine at the University of Leeds, died at the scene after being hit by a Ford Focus ST on May 16.
At Leeds Crown Court, prosecutors alleged that Regan Kemp, 26, was driving at around 80mph in a 30mph zone when he collided with the teenager before fleeing. Kemp, from Cornwall, is charged with causing death by dangerous driving but denies being behind the wheel.
Prosecutor Paul Mitchell told jurors that Kemp had travelled from Scotland to West Yorkshire on the evening of the crash, accompanied by two friends in a Mini Cooper. He was allegedly meeting a potential buyer for the Ford Focus and took him on a late-night test drive. During the drive, Kemp was said to be “showing off,” accelerating aggressively through the gears before reaching excessive speeds on Ring Road Beeston, where Kitchen-White was using a pelican crossing.
Jurors were shown mobile-phone footage recorded by a passenger in the rear seat, capturing the engine revving at high intensity moments before a loud impact. The video, Mr Mitchell said, clearly reveals a driver with a distinctive south-west English accent—consistent with Kemp and not with the Scottish accents of his companions.
CCTV footage presented in court reportedly shows the damaged Ford Focus pulling over shortly after the collision, with Kemp seen exiting from the driver’s side. The vehicle was later abandoned, and police recovered only Kemp’s fingerprints from inside.
Prosecutors said Kemp ran back to the parked Mini Cooper and left Leeds with the two men, returning first to Scotland and then to his home in St Just, Penzance. Four days later, Kemp surrendered to police but declined to answer questions during interview.
Kitchen-White’s family described him as “one in a million” in a tribute released after his death, recalling his passion for combat sports, fitness and his ambition to become a doctor. “We cannot express the sheer devastation we all feel,” they said. “He will always be remembered for the beautiful soul that he was.”
Mitchell told the court that the teenager “had no chance” due to the “grossly excessive speed” of the vehicle. Kemp continues to claim that another man was driving during the test run.
The trial remains ongoing.
Eswatini Confirms $5.1 Million U.S. Deal to Accept Third-Country Deportees Amid Legal Challenge
Source:Africa Publicity
