In the early hours of July 22, 2024, what should have been an ordinary night in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, turned into a tragedy that would send shockwaves through the community and beyond. Two young men, William Birchard, 21, and Darren George, 22, lost their lives after being deliberately struck by a pick-up truck as they rode home together on a single e-bike. The incident, which unfolded on a motorway slip road, was the result of a deadly case of mistaken identity and vigilante justice gone awry.
According to BBC, landscape gardener Alex Rose, 30, and his friend Charles Pardoe, 25, pursued Birchard and George at speeds exceeding 60mph, convinced they were the burglars Rose believed had tried to break into his home earlier that evening. The two victims, however, were not criminals on the run but simply young men heading to a pub in Ashford, far from Rose’s property.
Throughout the high-speed chase, Rose remained on the phone with his girlfriend, Tara Knaggs, 25, who stayed at home. As the pursuit intensified, Birchard and George, in a desperate attempt to escape, rode their Talaria Sting e-bike the wrong way around a roundabout and down the M3/A316 slip road. Rose and Pardoe, undeterred, followed in Rose’s black Ford Ranger Raptor, also driving the wrong way. The chase ended in catastrophe when Rose’s truck slammed into the back of the e-bike, sending both riders sprawling onto the tarmac.
As reported by Metro, Rose then made a three-point turn and drove past the two men lying gravely injured on the road. Instead of stopping to help or calling emergency services, he fled the scene, abandoned his truck nearby, and later falsely reported it stolen to the police. The aftermath was devastating: William Birchard died at the scene from catastrophic head injuries, while Darren George succumbed to his wounds later that day in hospital.
The police response was swift. By the afternoon of July 22, Rose and Knaggs were tracked down to Birmingham Airport, about to board a hastily booked one-way flight to Istanbul. They had with them a single carry-on bag and over £4,000 in cash. Knaggs had told her mother it was a surprise birthday trip, but officers saw through the ruse. Both were arrested in the departure lounge—Rose on suspicion of murder, Knaggs for assisting an offender. Pardoe and another friend, Samuel Aspden, were arrested two days later.
The investigation soon revealed a chilling narrative. Rose, who had previously been a victim of burglary at his business premises, saw figures moving in the grounds of a nearby college on the night of July 21. Convinced these were the same individuals who had targeted him before, he called Pardoe, and together they drove around for over an hour, searching for the supposed culprits. The trial at Guildford Crown Court later heard that neither Birchard nor George had been anywhere near Rose’s home that night—they just had the misfortune of crossing paths with him.
The legal proceedings were closely followed by the public. On September 10, 2025, after a four-week trial, jurors found Rose and Pardoe guilty of two counts of murder by majority verdict. As Surrey Police confirmed, Rose was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 34 years, while Pardoe received life with a minimum of 29 years. Both sentences were marginally reduced to account for time already served on remand. Knaggs was convicted of assisting an offender and sentenced to three years in prison, with a minimum of one year and two months before being eligible for release on license. Aspden was cleared of all charges.
Detective Inspector Debbie Birch, from the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, spoke after the sentencing: “My thoughts and sympathies remain, as always, with the family and friends of William Birchard and Darren George. Today’s outcome will not change the fact that William and Darren’s lives were cut so unfairly short, but I hope that their loved ones will take some small comfort from seeing justice served.” She also expressed gratitude to her colleagues for their tireless efforts in securing the convictions.
The families of the victims, meanwhile, were left to grapple with their loss. William’s father issued a heart-wrenching statement: “William was not just a victim of a senseless crime—he was our beloved son, a brother, and a friend to many. His life was filled with promise, and his loss has left a gap that will never be filled. William had a kind heart, a bright smile, and a love for life that touched everyone who knew him. We will remember him for his laughter, his loyalty, and the joy he brought into our lives. The past months have been an incredibly painful journey for our family. Sitting through the trial and hearing the details of how William’s life was taken has been almost unbearable.”
Darren’s mother echoed the sentiment, reflecting on the support her family had received from friends, strangers, and emergency responders alike. “We have had so much support from friends and family which has been invaluable. But it is those who have shown kindness even though they do not know us who have helped support us from afar—the lorry driver that stopped, the paramedics, and the Air Ambulance crew. Darren was always coming and going—he couldn’t sit still. He would arrive at home with friends, repair cars with his dad, then he would then be off, and then he would be back again. The coming and goings have stopped. The repairs of the cars have stopped. The buzz of a busy home has stopped. Darren’s dad is a man of few words. When he read the statement I had written for court, my husband simply uttered quietly, ‘I loved that boy.’”
The case has prompted broader conversations about vigilantism and the dangers of taking the law into one’s own hands. As Mary Walford from the Crown Prosecution Service stated, “Two men lost their lives as a result of Alex Rose wrongly believing that they were going to break into his property. This was a tragic case of the two victims simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Detective Inspector Birch was even more direct, calling Rose’s actions a “vigilante hunt” and criticizing his decision to pursue rather than call the police.
Legal consequences extended beyond prison time. A deprivation order was granted for the cash found on Rose and Knaggs at the airport, and Rose received an additional concurrent sentence for perverting the course of justice. For the families, however, no sentence could ever restore what was lost. “As a family, our lives will never be the same. William’s absence is felt every single day, and we carry a grief that words cannot fully express. But we also carry his memory, and we will continue to honour him in the way we live our lives,” said William’s father.
In the end, the tragedy in Sunbury-on-Thames stands as a stark reminder of the irreversible consequences that can arise from rash decisions and misplaced suspicion. The justice system has spoken, but for two families and a community, the echoes of that night will linger for years to come.
