The man accused of the manslaughter of Travis Lowe has chosen not to give evidence at his trial.

Kethyio Whitehurst is alleged to have chased Mr Lowe at high speed through the streets of Southampton in July 2016 causing him to fatally crash head-on into a van.

Yesterday at Supreme Court, Mr Whitehurst told jurors he would not be taking the stand.

He said: “I don’t wish to take the stand, but I do wish to call witnesses.”

The jury then heard from PC Milen Simons who told the court that he had investigated an incident on July 19, 2015 where Mr Lowe was alleged to have tried to run a man off his motorcycle.

PC Simons said: “On December 14, 2015, Travis Lowe was convicted of threatening behaviour towards Dornielle Farrel in that he attempted to run Mr Farrel off the road while he was driving his motorbike.

“He was also convicted of driving a motor vehicle in a dangerous manner on Reid Street. He pled guilty to both charges.”

Mr Farrel also appeared before the court yesterday, but said he could not remember the incident. He relayed some of the facts of the incident after being shown his statement, but repeatedly maintained: “I don’t want to be here, this case has nothing to do with me.”

Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney closed the Crown’s case on Thursday afternoon having recalled Loryn Bell, an intelligence analyst, who provided jurors with more WhatsApp conversations taken from Mr Whitehurst’s mobile phone.

Earlier in the trial, jurors heard that messages sent from Mr Whitehurst’s phone after the fatal crash included “made Travis go down” and “I just hope he dies”.

Prosecutors maintain that Mr Whitehurst is associated with the MOB gang and that on July 26, last year was “on the hunt” as he left Somerset heading towards Southampton.

It is alleged that he spotted Mr Lowe on Camp Hill Road and embarked on a high-speed chase that ended when Mr Lowe ploughed head-on into a van on Horseshoe Road.

The 23-year-old sustained fatal brain injuries from which he died in hospital seven days later.

Mr Whitehurst of Sandys denies manslaughter.

The trial continues.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any slanderous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.