Father and son named as cyclists killed in suspected hit-and-run

Two cyclists killed in a suspected hit-and-run near Barnsley in South Yorkshire on Friday evening were a father and his 16-year-old son.

Dean Jones and his son Lewis Daines died at the scene after being hit on Royston Road in Cudworth, with the car involved later found abandoned in a neighbouring village half a mile away.

South Yorkshire Police have arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, but police are still searching for another man.

It is believed the vehicle involved is a red Volkswagen Golf, and the driver failed to stop at the scene, leaving the car in Bleak Avenue in nearby Shafton.

In a social media post Lewis's mother Susan said she loved him "millions" and said he was "well loved" and "will be missed by many".

Speaking to ITV news while laying flowers at the scene of the crash, the teenager's cousin Samantha Earnshaw said she would "do everything to have him back here with us".

"He's the most loving boy. He's a very big loss, big big loss. I'd do everything to have him back here with us, everything," she said.

"Just come forward, whoever's done it just come forward. We need that justice for my little 16-year-old cousin. Anyone around these areas at that time, dash cam or whatever, please just come forward if you've seen anything. Please, please."

South Yorkshire Police are still searching for a second suspect and appealed "for anyone who witnessed the incident or who was driving in the area at the time and may have seen the Volkswagen Golf or cyclists to get in touch".

"We are particularly keen to hear from those with dash-cam footage," a police spokesperson said.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact South Yorkshire Police through the live chat facility on their website, their online portal, or by calling 101, quoting incident number 1089 of 20 January.

Dash cam footage can be emailed to enquiries [at] southyorks.pnn.police.uk.

Please note comments on this story are closed.

On a separate but related point, last week we shared news of a petition that has been launched calling for a lifetime driving ban for those convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.

The petition has just over 8,000 signatures at the time of writing, around 2,000 short of the 10,000-mark when the government will respond to it, and will run until 4 April.

Despite dangerous driving costing the life of another road user often those convicted of such an offence are only banned for a relatively short period of time, sometimes as briefly as two years with an extended retest if they wish to drive again.

Last week, Lee Beevers, a banned driver who killed a cyclist in a hit-and-run crash and then torched the car he had been driving was disqualified from driving for five years and three months, just eight months longer than his four years and eight months jail sentence.

The petition was created by Angela Burke, the mother of a child killed by a driver speeding between 73 and 93mph when they hit her on a 30mph road, who believes "driving is a luxury and it should be taken away if convicted of this crime. I've lost my child forever."

"He was sentenced to nine years, minus 25 per cent reduction for pleading guilty, and also given a seven-year driving ban to start immediately. When he's released he will have four years ban left," she wrote.

You can read more details about the petition and sign it here...