Father 'tried to kill his three children' by driving into oncoming traffic, court told

Tancredo Bankhardt, 41, is on trial after his car drove at high speed into oncoming traffic on the A146 near Loddon, Norfolk, on September 26 last year, causing injuries to two of his children and another man.

He has denied three counts of attempted murder and is on trial this week at Norwich Crown Court, with the prosecution giving its statement on Monday. He also denies three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Prosecutor Stephen Rose KC told the court that Bankhardt “decided to end his own life” and that of the three children “by deliberately orchestrating a road traffic collision”.

The barrister said that Bankhardt, of Saxon Road, Great Yarmouth, “ensured that none of them were wearing seatbelts” in the Vauxhall Astra car.

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“The result was a serious collision involving multiple vehicles,” he said.

Mr Rose said that “the prosecution say this was a deliberate collision as a result of a decision taken by Mr Bankhardt, no doubt in something of a heightened state of emotion, to take his own life and that of the three children."

He said that no lives were lost, but “serious injuries were caused in this collision”.

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Bankhardt also denies three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, with two of these in respect of two of the three children who were in his car, and the third count in respect of a man.

Norfolk Police said at the time of the incident that the driver of another car was treated for injuries after the crash.

Bankhardt also denies a seventh count of dangerous driving.

The prosecutor said that Bankhardt drove up and down a stretch of the A146 for about two hours before the crash, “turning around at roundabouts and retracing his route”.

He said the collision happened at 8.33pm on the Loddon bypass where the speed limit is 60mph.

The vehicle’s dashcam indicated it was travelling at about 74mph before the collision, the barrister said.

Mr Rose said Bankhardt is expected to say the incident was “just a terrible accident” and he “didn’t intend to kill either himself” or the three children.

The trial, anticipated to last around two weeks with the possibility of running into a third week, continues.