A heartbroken father ran out of his house shouting ‘my boy, my boy’ after his six-year-old son was knocked down outside the family home.
Jayden Kearns was playing outside his home in New Rough Hey in Preston with other children at around 4.35pm on March 26 last year when Chris Cleaver, returning home from the school run, knocked him over due to a spot blind in his truck.
The minibus driver took out his Citroën Relay to talk to his own children who were playing with little Jayden before telling them that he would go out to play after parking the van.
He checked his mirrors and backed up before hearing a loud “crunch.”
An inquest heard that a neighbor heard the collision and saw the four-year-old boy being “swept under the wheels”, and Cleaver quickly stopped and ran to help the boy.
Neighbors rushed to the scene where the driver was found on the side of the road crying and with his head in his hands as the boy’s father ran out of the shower with only a towel shouting ‘my boy, my boy.’
The inquest heard how paramedics rushed to the scene before taking him to Royal Preston Hospital, but despite the paramedics’ best efforts the boy died at 5.50pm that day.
An inquest into Jayden’s death held at Preston Coroner’s Court yesterday found how the boy was playing outside on his bike when Cleaver, who operates a school service for children with special needs, returned home from work.
Jayden Kearns was playing outside his home in New Rough Hey (pictured) in Preston with other children when he was hit by a van.

After the collision, neighbors rushed to the boy’s aid and one resident said: “I heard a loud crunch and could see little Jayden being dragged under the wheels.”
Jayden’s grandmother, Kathleen Yates, was at her daughter Gemma’s house at the time, having brought Jayden to the nanny’s house.
It was heard that when Mrs Yates heard Mr Cleaver enter the cul-de-sac she thought to herself “idiot” because she believed he was driving too fast.
After the collision, neighbors rushed to the boy’s aid and one resident, Derek Winstanley, said: “I heard a loud crunch and could see little Jayden being dragged under the wheels.” Chris jumped up and picked up Jayden.
“I immediately knew it was something serious. It seemed as if the life had gone out of him.
The heartbroken grandmother ran out screaming at the father of five: ‘What have you done to my grandson?’
Paramedics gave Jayden a blood transfusion while at the scene and rushed him to hospital in an ambulance with a police escort.
He had suffered serious head and chest injuries and was in cardiac arrest upon arrival.
After Jayden failed to respond to treatment efforts, he was pronounced dead at 5:50 p.m. The cause of death was recorded as chest trauma.
Meanwhile, Cleaver passed a roadside drug and alcohol test, as well as a field impairment test and a vision evaluation.
He was questioned under caution by police, who said he had checked his surroundings before setting off in the seconds before the collision, but his vision was affected by a wheelchair ramp inside the minibus.
Collision investigator Rachel Carbery explained the vehicle had a “significant blind spot” which would have restricted the father-of-five’s view of Jayden.
Police used a dummy to reconstruct the collision and view camera footage of the accident.
PC Carbery was asked whether Mr Cleaver had entered the cul-de-sac “at excessive speed”. She said: ‘According to CCTV that shows him entering New Rough. Hey, it traveled there and it wasn’t fast in my opinion. It would be the speed I would expect.
Cleaver, who no longer lives in New Rough Hey, passed his driving test in 2012. He had worked for 247 Group Ltd, transporting children with special needs to and from their homes and Acorns Primary School in Preston.
He did not attend the inquest, but his lawyer conveyed his condolences to Jayden’s family. Jayden’s grandmother, Kathleen Yates, responded: “I’m sorry, but we don’t want it.”
Since Jayden’s death, his parents and sister have not been able to return to their family home. Mrs Yates said the family’s “whole world has been shattered”.
The investigation discovered that Jayden was a fan of Paw Patrol and Spiderman. He was particularly close to his grandmother, who said: ‘He was incredible; a babysitter’s child..’
Sergeant Matt Davidson said: “We would have to prove that his standard of driving was below expectations.” “According to our investigation, that was not the case.”
Before area coroner Kate Bisset concluded the inquest, she asked Jayden’s grandmother if there was anything she would like to say. Mrs Yates replied: “I can’t believe that idiot could get away with this.”
Mrs Bisset recorded a “road traffic collision” as the cause of death and concluded: “There are no circumstances which indicate evidence that should refer this to the Crown Prosecution Service.”
“Jayden Paul Anthony Kearns died on 26 March 2023 at Royal Preston Hospital as a result of injuries sustained in a road traffic collision in New Rough Hey.”