Four 'died in Hemsworth Fast and Furious car race'

Four crash victims — Image caption (Clockwise from top left) Alexandra Binns, Terrie Kirby, Brandon Brown and Ryan Beal died following the collision on the A6201 in September

Four people died when their quad bike was hit by a car at 140mph as vehicles raced in scenes likened to the film The Fast And The Furious, a jury has heard.

Ryan Beal, 20, Brandon Brown, 20, Alexandra Binns, 18, and Terrie Kirby, 16, were killed when the quad bike they were riding was hit by a Nissan 350Z.

The Nissan was taking part in a race on the A6201 Hemsworth bypass at the time.

Five people deny encouraging dangerous driving while two have admitted causing death by dangerous driving.

Prosecutor Kama Melly QC said the Nissan was one of a number of vehicles taking part in a high-speed race when the crash happened on 27 September 2015.

She told a jury at Leeds Crown Court two groups of people had travelled from Wakefield and Barnsley to use the stretch of road for racing as spectators watched from the sides of the road and a railway bridge.

Analysis of the Nissan's sat-nav showed it was doing 140mph at the time of the impact with the quad bike and had reached 144mph on previous runs along the single carriageway road, the court was told.

A passenger who witnessed the racing cars said in a statement read to the court by Miss Melly "that the scene was something like out of the film The Fast And The Furious".

The four people killed were out celebrating Miss Kirby's birthday.

'Encouraged dangerous driving'

The court heard a police investigation found the quad bike had no rear lights and Miss Me lly said that other road users were "very concerned" with "the manner in which it was being driven earlier that night".

The prosecutor also said: "We are not saying that these defendants specifically encouraged that particular piece of driving that caused the deaths of the four on the quad bike.

"It is the Crown's case that the defendants' presence encouraged the dangerous driving that occurred over the course of the evening."

"They went knowing what they would see and participate in and went knowing that a group of supporters and enthusiasts being present would encourage the dangerous driving that did occur."

George Tomlinson, 25, of Hall Croft, Netherton, Wakefield; Nathan Jackson, 21, of Higham Common, Barnsley; Stephen Hebden, 23, of Dodworth Road, Barnsley; Lee Fisher, 29, of Pond Street, Barnsley and Bradley Lockwood, 22, of Rotherham Road, Barnsley, all deny one count of encouraging and assisting in the commission of a dangerous driving offence.

The jury was told that the driver of the Nissan, Daniel Raynor, and his front seat passenger, Matthew Todd, have admitted charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

The trial continues.