Man 'deliberately' hit by BMW in Brighton crash, court hears

Suel Miguel Monteiro Delgado, died in hospital after being hit by the borrowed car while his friends survived with severe life-changing injuries.

Two brothers from Mitcham, south London were in the car in the early hours of December 1 2019 when it sent the three men flying into the air, a court heard.

The BMW then drove off at speed leaving Mr Delgado and his friends "strewn across the road" while those who escaped the crash reacted in horror, a jury was told.

Older sibling Iftekhar Khondaker, 34, is charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder while Irfan Khondaker, 27, is charged with assisting an offender.

The pair deny the offences and both appeared for trial at Hove Crown Court on Tuesday afternoon.

The BMW was left in Middle Street in The Lanes

Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon QC said Mr Delgado and his friends had been "drinking, dancing and generally having a good time" at Shooshh nightclub on the beach earlier that night.

At some point their group - initially composed of nine people but later reduced to five - came into contact with the Khondaker brothers and their friend, none of whom they knew.

A fight broke out for reasons that are unclear, with members of both groups swinging belts at each other, the court heard.

The commotion woke guests asleep in seafront hotel rooms who looked out their windows to see what was going on.

The fight continued along the road overlooking the beach for some time before the groups eventually parted.

The Khondaker brothers headed towards the BMW X6 which belonged to their father and Iftekhar got into the driver's seat while his sibling got into the passenger seat.

Ms Lumsdon continued: "The BMW pulled out from its parking space on Marine Parade, it pulled into the wrong side of the road and accelerated.

"It struck three men from that large group as they were still crossing the road, hitting them from behind."

Witnesses described seeing them "flying up into the air" and landing strewn across the road.

"The BMW did not stop, it drove at speed along the seafront," the prosecutor added.

Later that night the brothers got into an Uber taxi that Irfan had called and travelled back to their home in Mitcham, she told the jury.

Mr Delgado had been a promising young footballer for West Sussex-based Loxwood FC, who play in the Southern Combination Premier Division.

After his death the club paid tribute to him, saying: "We will miss his cheeky smile, energy and jokes - such a lovely lad to have around the club.

Ms Lumsdon said that Iftekhar "deliberately drove the BMW into these men intending to kill them".

She added: "We understand that the issue in this case will be whether he deliberately drove into the men or whether he struck them by accident.

"Irfan, we understand, accepts that he was in the car with his brother, he accepts that he called an Uber to take them both home but we understand the issue in his case will be whether he did this to help his brother escape detection."

The trial continues.