Copyright dailyrecord
A man accused of murdering his girlfriend's brother in a drunken rage by deliberately driving at him made a frantic 999 call in the aftermath of the incident. Martin O'Donovan, 47, died on April 18 this year after being hit by Stephen Bates' Ford Fiesta outside his sister's home on Stonyhurst Road, Woolton, at around 11.45pm. The two men had met just a few hours earlier at Mr O'Donovan's mum's 70th birthday party. They initially "hit it off straight away", but later are said to have became embroiled in a drunken punch up when Bates allegedly insisted on driving home despite having downed a cocktail of Jagerbombs, Stella Artois, Red Bull and vodka. He was said to have issued a series of threats to kill the other man before returning to the scene in his car and "deliberately driving straight at him", reports the Echo . Bates, of Herondale Road in Mossley Hill, denies murdering Mr O'Donovan, instead pleading guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. At his ongoing trial at Liverpool Crown Court this week, the jury was told how Bates, 42, made a call to 999 shortly after running over Mr O'Donovan. He said: "I've just run someone over on Stonyhurst Road. I think they're dead. "They're not moving. They're not breathing. We had an argument, and I've run him over. You need to send someone quick. I've done the crime. I don't know what we were arguing over, but it's my girlfriend's brother. "I've just run someone over on Stonyhurst Road. I think they're dead. "They're not moving. They're not breathing. We had an argument, and I've run him over. You need to send someone quick. I've done the crime. I don't know what we were arguing over, but it's my girlfriend's brother." Police who attended the scene noted Bates was "extremely intoxicated", and he told officers, "I know mate, I'm not going anywhere", as he was handcuffed. Having then been told he would be required to undergo a breathalyser test, he added: "I know what I've done. I know what I've done is wrong. I've f***ed up." When interviewed at Belle Vale Police Station the following day, Bates claimed he "didn't see Martin" and denied having intentionally driven at him. But the prosecution say Bates intentionally ran over Mr O'Donovan "to enact his revenge for being punched". Mr O'Donovan's sister Natalie O'Donovan, who drove Bates from Woolton to Mossley Hill following the initial fight , told the court: "As soon as he got in the car, literally for the whole car journey, all he done was threaten to kill my brother. 'I'm gonna kill your brother, do you think he's gonna get away with that, punching me?'. "I said, 'Stephen, you've caused the whole thing, it's been a drunken fight, you need to go home and get some rest'. His words were, 'I'm gonna pay someone to come and get your brother'." When they arrived at Barndale Road, Mossley Hill, Ms O'Donovan said she returned Bates' car keys to him and got out of the car. Bates then 'got into the driver's seat and sped off at high speed'. He returned to Stonyhurst Road, where he hit Mr O'Donovan with Ford Fiesta. Susanne Lewzey, Bates' girlfriend and Mr O'Donovan's sister, said: "I opened my front door and my brother was sitting on the wall. I was just about to say to him, 'Martin, he's got in his car'. I literally just opened it, and his car appeared. His car just appeared. It went right into the wall. "Within a split second, my brother had jumped up. He basically jumped off the wall, because he'd seen the car, and ran to dodge the car. He went to hit him, stopped, turned and just ran him straight full over, and I mean, like full blast. I went ballistic. I could see my brother face down under his car. He was still revving it, trying to carry on. I thought, he's going to run over him again with the back wheels." In a police interview , Bates told detectives he had returned to the property as Natalie O'Donovan had informed him that Susanne "wanted to end the relationship", and he was intending to "go back to speak to his partner". The trial continues.
