Manchester City footballer held after two killed

Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving...

17:04 03 September 2012

Manchester City footballer Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. 

 

A crash in Manchester on Saturday night at 10:15PM claimed the lives of a man and a woman and left two teenagers injured. 

 

The deceased have been named as Ravel-Kaur Singh, 37, and her 32-year-old brother Kulwant Singh. Ravel’s son Harveen Singh, 17, is in critical condition while his younger brother Ajmeet, 16, is in a stable condition at Salford Royal Hospital. The family were returning home from a festival at the Gurdwara Sri Guru HarKrishan Sahib temple.

 

It is understood that Meppen-Walter was driving a Mercedes. A 19 year-old man driving a VW Golf named as James Conroy was also arrested in connection to the incident as well.

 

Both men have now been bailed until 23 November.

 

A promising footballer talent, Meppen-Walter also played for England's under-17s squad.

 

The Manchester Event News reported that the police are investigating whether or not the two arrested drivers were racing each other. It is thought that they are friends. 

 

The MEN also revealed that witnesses claimed that the impact catapulted the Nissan Micra 50 yards down the road and Meppen-Walter emerged from his Mercedes shouting "it wasn't me!". 

 

An unnamed witness told the paper: "The driver of the Mercedes was standing in the middle of the road shouting ‘it wasn’t me, it wasn’t me’.

 

"Everyone ran from the [nearby] temple – there were probably about 200 people in there. [Victim] Mr Singh was taking his sister home after the festival and then coming back for his wife and kids.

 

"His wife stayed at the temple last night – until she went to the hospital she still thought he was going to come back. She was praying ‘please God bring my husband back’. It’s really sad."

 

A spokesman for football club Manchester City said: "This is a devastating tragedy for this family. Manchester City Football Club offers its heartfelt condolences to the family and all affected."