A MAN who allegedly killed his nephew and seriously injured another man in a horror crash two years ago made his first appearance in court yesterday.

Lejan Lancaster-Baxter, 34, is charged with causing the death of Brad Aldridge by dangerous driving on February 3, 2019, in Harrogate Road, Undercliffe.

Lancaster-Baxter, of Intake Terrace, Fagley, is also charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving to Declan Aldridge in the same incident.

Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court heard it is alleged Lancaster-Baxter was driving a black Volkswagen Golf on February 3, 2019, when it was involved in a collision with two other vehicles.

Lancaster-Baxter’s nephew Brad Aldridge, then 19 and father to a young son, was killed in the collision, and Declan, Brad’s cousin who was 21 at the time, was left seriously injured.

The prosecutor said: “I’m not going to rehearse the facts of the case, suffice to say the defendant was driving a Volkswagen Golf and during the course of that it’s alleged he drove dangerously which led to his nephew dying and Declan Aldridge receiving serious injuries.

“It’s a matter that needs to go to the crown court as soon as possible, for the family.”

Defending, John Bottomley said: “It’s a distressing case.

“He was charged in February this year but since then I have received no papers from the Crown Prosecution Service.

“We need to be able to assess the papers and I have chased the CPS for them for two months with no success, and I don’t want Mr Lancaster-Baxter to be negatively affected by this.”

Mr Bottomley accepted the case needed to go to crown court and said reports need to be prepared for the next hearing, and that Lancaster-Baxter “has suffered his own physical and psychological injuries from this incident”.

The bench of magistrates said they were “very sorry” to hear the facts of the case and told Lancaster-Baxter they “offer our sincere condolences to you and to your family”.

The case has been sent to Bradford Crown Court, with the case next due to be heard on June 16.

Lancaster-Baxter, who appeared wearing a black Stone Island jacket and sporting a crew cut, spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth, and was granted unconditional bail by the court.

The death of Brad Aldridge in the collision in 2019 sent shockwaves through the community in Fagley, where he had lived with his family.

There was an outpouring of grief from friends and family, as well as the teenage father’s old schools, with lots of tributes paid to the much loved teen.

A statement from his family, issued after his sad death, said: “Our precious baby boy, son, brother, father, partner, grandson, nephew and cousin.

“Our hearts are broken. It feels like a bad dream, like we’re going to wake up soon and it’s not going to be true.

“How could my precious blue-eyed boy be gone, everyone who ever knew him speak such beautiful words of him, it means so much to us.

“Your mammy and daddy are so proud of our beautiful blue-eyed boy that you became. You are our world.

“You are our world. You are mine and your daddy’s beginning and you will always be our all and everything. Until we meet again.”