30 January 2023 , 19:31
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A motorist who killed two young friends, aged 10 and 11, has admitted to causing death by dangerous driving.
BMW driver Jack Hart was told by a judge he "played the system" after failing to formally accept his actions for two years.
Hart was refused bail and remanded in custody after he left it until the day before his trial was due to start before he pleaded guilty.
The lengthy delay greatly increased the anguish of the bereaved families.
He had been speeding at the time of the accident and had driven into a bus lane.
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He later removed a dashcam.
The 32-year-old, of west Hull, had previously denied causing the deaths of Steven Duffield and Mason Deakin.
Steven died on October 19, 2020 and Mason died on November 2, 2020.
Hart outside Hull Crown Court on Monday (HullLive/GNP)Best friends Steven, 10, and Mason, 11, were riding their bicycles along a busy stretch of Anlaby Road near the East Yorkshire buses garage, when the incident happened at about 6.10pm.
Both boys were taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, but Steven later died.
Mason was kept in intensive care and had been transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, where he remained in a coma and on life support, but he died two weeks later, with his family by his bedside.
Hart appeared before Hull Crown Court for a plea hearing ahead of the trial, which had been due to start tomorrow.
His not-guilty pleas to the charges were entered during an earlier appearance at the court in June last year.
Steven Duffield, 10, was killed (HullLive/MEN)Hart was represented for the latest hearing by Charlotte Baines, who said he contravened a bus lane and had been speeding before the fatal collision.
He at first did not accept that he had anything to do with a missing dashcam.
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Although, after the case was stood down for Hart to give further details, Ms Baines later said that he did not now want to put in a basis of plea over his version of that matter.
She said that Hart had indicated he would be changing his pleas to guilty a few days or weeks ago.
She asked for Hart to be allowed bail until the day of his sentencing so that he could sort out his affairs. She added that he had always attended previous hearings.
Mason Deakin, 11 (HullLive/MEN)"He has been on bail throughout," said Ms Baines.
"There has been no difficulty with him surrendering to bail throughout the proceedings."
She added that she wanted to collect character references and information from a "health specialist" who had been working with him.
But Judge John Thackray KC said: "He has had two years to get his affairs in order. He has played the system and left it to the last possible minute.
Tributes to Mason and Steven (HullLive/MEN)"His plea has come over two years later than it should have done."
Hart curled his lip and stared ahead when he was told that he would be remanded in custody.
Judge Thackray said that Hart faced a "very significant sentence measured in years".