THE man accused of murdering Powys woman Rebecca Steer was told that he had ‘ruined lives’ after driving into a group of people in Oswestry. 

Stephen McHugh is accused of Miss Steer’s murder and causing Kyle Roberts grievous bodily harm in October 2022 after the car he was driving mounted a kerb in Willow Street.  

He denies both charges but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and actual bodily harm against Miss Steer and Mr Roberts, respectively.  

Kyle Dwyer, 18, gave evidence on day two of the trial at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday, April 20 and was present in the car when the two victims were struck. 

He told the court that after McHugh, who has admitted being the driver, sped away from the scene, he argued with another passenger Alex Coulson over the severity of what had happened. 

According to Mr Dwyer, Mr Coulson shouted at McHugh that ‘you’ve ruined my life, you’ve ruined your own life and you’ve ruined another person’s life’. 

READ MORE: Car that killed Rebecca Steer kept moving forwards while she was under it, trial told

The witness said that once his fellow passengers had ceased arguing, he then shouted at McHugh ‘what the **** have you just done?’ before admitting this caused the defendant to lose his temper. 

This caused Mr Dwyer to then run off when the car came to a stop, to avoid further escalation, and chose to hide before returning home because he feared the defendant may have also run him over.  

He also described the moment that the Volvo car he was in, and driven by McHugh, had run over Miss Steer, describing a ‘crunching noise’ as she was underneath the car. 

The witness added that prior to the incident, there had been ‘raised voices’ between the defendant and a group of people on the pavement.  

READ MORE: LIVE: Day Two of the Rebecca Steer murder trial

Mr Dwyer said that when the car moved forward, he put his head down because "I could see where we were heading".

He was asked where by lead prosecutor Kevin Hegarty KC and replied: “Onto the kerb and into the people.” 

Mr Dwyer, in cross examination, agreed with defence barrister Paul Hynes KC’s suggestion that McHugh’s tone might have been one of a dismissive, rather than angry, nature.  

Meanwhile, Huw Evans gave evidence from behind a screen, and described the moment he saw Miss Steer, with whom he had begun a relationship, on the floor after the collision.  

Mr Evans added that when he witnessed the collision, the driver of the car – who he did not know at the time – had ‘taken off at an aggressive speed’. 

Statements from other witnesses, including Mr Roberts, were read to the court by Ben Williams, junior barrister for the prosecution, which all gave their view of the incident.  

Mr Roberts told the court that he did not have a ‘good memory’ of the evening and that he had suffered ‘emotional and psychological harm’. 

The trial continues.