Jail for ex squaddie who ran over and killed one legged man

A former soldier who mowed down a one-legged man with his own Mercedes when he tried to stop him driving away with his prized car was jailed for 13 years.

Marc Allen, 51, who had a prosthetic leg, disturbed Errol Woodger, 38, as he broke into his ground floor flat in Erith, southeast London, in the early hours of 29 December 2019.

The father-of-one strapped on his leg and chased the career criminal out of his home but then saw him jump into his Mercedes GLA.

Mr Allen stood in the middle of the road shouting: ‘That’s my car’ and ‘You aren’t taking my car’.

But Woodger used the Mercedes ‘as a weapon’ and accelerated at Mr Allen, throwing him onto the bonnet of the car then over the roof, causing him severe head injuries.

One neighbour heard his head ‘crack’ after he slid off the Mercedes and on to the road, the Old Bailey heard.

Woodger clapped as he was cleared of murder by an Old Bailey jury in April.

But he shook his head and fought with dock officers when was convicted of manslaughter and robbery.

Members of Mr Allen’s immediate family read a series of moving impact statements to the court.

His mother Jennifer said: ‘Marc was my first born son, I had him at King’s College Hosp, I had most of my children there, I knew it to be a place of love until 29 Dec 2019 when I watched my son die.’

His father Charlie Allen said: ‘I watched my son fight for air before he died, it has been the worst experience I think any family or father should go through.

‘Me and my family have been put through the horrendous court proceedings as a guilty man tries to evade justice.

‘I end with these words: ‘Let justice be done.’

Brandon Allen, his son, spoke of how his father was ‘cruelly taken away’ , before ending his statement with ‘I love you dad.’

Allen’s youngest sister Lisa Allen said: ‘When I was 14, he taught me to play chess.

‘Marc and I would then sit on armchairs and play for hours.

‘My last memory of my brother was the day we said goodbye. I remember wanting so badly for him to be able to hear us and know how much he was loved.

‘My big brother had left me and I would have no more new memories; he would never play chess again, he would never cook for me again or show me his car.

‘I will always have an empty chair at my table and an empty glass at all of our future gatherings.’

Judge Rebecca Trowler, KC said: ‘Marc was plainly deeply loved and his death has taken a heavy toll on various members of the family in different ways.

‘There is no punishment that can bring him back and there are no words I can use which will provide comfort for a grieving family.

‘I cannot be sure you were driving, and for the purposes of sentencing, I must proceed that there may have been others who drove the car that night, carrying you as a passenger.

‘That being the case, I also cannot be sure that you personally intended that harm should be done to Marc Allen as a secondary party.

‘It is unclear exactly how the keys to the Mercedes were obtained.

‘Your evidence on that issue was wholly incredible. I am sure you either took them from inside his flat, or the keys were taken from him.

‘There is evidence from Marc Allen’s sister that Marc Allen would always clip his large bunch of keys onto his belt or otherwise in his trouser pocket so he did not get caught out, those keys included the keys to his Mercedes, including his house keys.

‘I am sure you would have been aware of his disability, having seen him when the keys were taken from him and when he came out of the property.

‘The breaking into the property in order to steal was clearly planned and not opportunistic, and for that reason, the offence of manslaughter is rendered more serious.

‘These offences are made more serious by the fact that before you had killed Marc Allen in this way, you had committed a serious number of other offences.

‘As a young man you served in the army for seven years, you left the army in 2011 and it has been confirmed today that you were diagnosed with PTSD arising from your service.

‘It appears in 2011, you went absent without leave, but then presented yourself to a medical barracks.

‘During your sick leave, you tested positive for cocaine; as a result, you were dishonourably discharged.’

Woodger saluted his family in the public gallery as he was led down to the cells.

Jurors were shown footage from a camera on a neighbour’s home of Mr Allen’s car quickly reversing onto the road to turn before racing down the street with the headlights on.

A neighbour could then be seen running towards Mr Allen in her dressing gown.

Despite treatment at the scene and at King’s College Hospital, Mr Allen, died a month later in hospital on 29 January 2020.

Woodger has an appalling criminal record comprising of 25 offences including robbery, possession of an offensive weapon, using violence to enter premises, assault, theft, dangerous driving and possession of class A drugs with intent to supply.

Giving evidence, Woodger told jurors he had served in Afghanistan and came back with PTSD, so he started smoking crack cocaine to self-medicate.

He turned to robbery to fund his drug addiction and was taken along with two dealers to rob power tools from the flat next door to Mr Allen.

Woodger claimed they ended up breaking into Mr Allen’s home and taking his car keys.

He said he got into the Mercedes passenger seat and was driving when Mr Allen was hit.

Woodger insisted: ‘I’m charged with a murder that I didn’t commit.’

Mr Allen’s car had been supplied by a mobility scheme, as he had a prosthetic leg, jurors heard.

‘It appears he became aware of someone either exiting the next-door premises, or in the communal hallway,’ said Anthony Orchard, KC, prosecuting.

‘Marc Allen must have put on his prosthetic leg and gone to his front door. Within minutes Marc Allen’s Mercedes was being stolen.

‘His car keys had been taken. You can be sure he didn’t hand them over voluntarily.’

Linda Rumsey, who lived on the opposite side of the road to Mr Allen, told the court she was watching TV at 2.45am when she heard shouting outside.

She said she went to the window.

‘When I heard the shouting I just thought ‘here we go again, it’s someone arguing again outside the lamppost.’’

She said she heard a man shouting ‘that’s my car, that’s my effing car’.

Mrs Rumsey said she raised her blind and saw Mr Allen.

‘He was at the back of the car and then he went round to the driver’s side.

‘The window was open and he was shouting “that’s my effing car, you’re not taking my effing car”.

‘He shouted through the window.

‘He was really shouting quite loud and he sounded scared.’

She said she recognised Mr Allen as one of her neighbours but she did not know his name at the time as they would only say good morning and good evening.

‘I knew that was his car.

‘I saw him cleaning it a lot. It was his pride and joy.’

She said it appeared the person in the car ‘didn’t know how to drive it properly’ due to the amount of revving.

Mrs Rumsey said the driver’s side window was open and she could tell it was a male driving.

She said her husband advised her to stay inside but she went out into the street.

‘An ambulance was there, a paramedic car and they had already started to cordon off the road.

‘I knew he was in a bad way because they were attending to him for a very long time before they put him in an ambulance and blue lighted him away.’

Another neighbour recalled Mr Allen yelling ‘hoi’ a number of times before the collision, and described a ‘golf ball sized’ lump on the back of his head when he was found lying in the street.’

Woodger sped off leaving Mr Allen dying in the road.

Mr Orchard added: ‘The prosecution case is the Mercedes vehicle being stolen was used deliberately as a weapon to facilitate the escape of the thief, this defendant.’

Woodger, of Abbey Wood, denied murder and robbery.