Kendall resident Ronald Chapman says he saw the child in the back of a fast-moving vehicle on the day he went missing

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

A man living in the New South Wales town where toddler William Tyrrell was last seen is “sure” he saw the boy in the back of a fast-moving car, a court has heard.

The inquest into the three-year-old’s 2014 disappearance resumed in Taree on Monday.

The Kendall resident Ronald Chapman was questioned about his claim that he saw a young boy wearing a Spider-Man suit the day William went missing in September 2014.

Chapman was asked whether it was possible he had mistaken the boy – in the back seat of a white Toyota Landcruiser that went by his home – for the grandson of a neighbour who also owned a Spider-Man suit.

“I’m sure it was William Tyrrell that was in the vehicle,” he told the NSW coroner’s court.

“He just had his hands up on the window and was looking. His face wasn’t pressed against the glass but he was very close to the glass.

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“He didn’t seem distressed or upset. Whether he knew the person I don’t know.”

The Toyota was followed by a “light blue” and “fairly large” sedan, he said.

“I wouldn’t know what make of vehicle but a six-cylinder because he really had his foot down when he cut the corner,” Chapman said.

“He had almost two wheels on the grass, he had cut the corner that much that had there been another vehicle (coming the other way) they would have had a head-on collision.”

Chapman said he didn’t know William at the time but recognised him after seeing a TV news report about the boy’s disappearance.

He stated he was “the worst in the world” at telling the makes of cars but later saw a Toyota Landcruiser while stopped at roadworks.

The inquest continues.