Racing bike rider ‘sprang up to yell at woman he killed in crash’
A WITNESS told yesterday how he heard a young cyclist yell at a fatally injured woman pedestrian after ploughing into her on a racing bike.
Mother-of-two Kim Briggs, 44, suffered “catastrophic injuries” when she clashed heads with Charlie Alliston, who was 18 at the time, the Old Bailey heard.
Witness David Callan saw the 18mph collision as he walked down Old Street, central London. “I had my head down looking at something on my mobile phone when I heard a shout,” he said in a statement read to the jury by prosecutor Duncan Penny, QC.
“It made me look up immediately, just in time to see a collision between a cyclist and a pedestrian.
“The cyclist flew through the air and the pedestrian fell at the point of impact.
“The cyclist clattered to the ground further down the road but quickly sprang to his feet and shouted something at the pedestrian as he took a step towards the pedestrian who lay on the ground.”
Former courier Alliston, now 20, bought the £470 second-hand Planet X Olympic track bike – which was not fitted with a front brake – a month before the accident in February last year.
Dangerous
He accused human resources executive Mrs Briggs of “day-dreaming” when questioned by police. Detective Constable Darren Case said that when asked why he did not have front brakes fitted, Alliston said: “I feel safe. I feel comfortable controlling my own speed.”
Questioned about his speed, he insisted: “I was not racing, in a rush.”
He also distanced himself from a web post – written under his username “Charlie ******* A” – which alleged that Mrs Briggs “proceeded into the road and looked back at her phone”.
But he told police: “It was dangerous if they were looking – I wasn’t messing around, I was not on the phone daydreaming. I was paying attention to what was going on around me.”
Police investigator Edward Small said tests showed Alliston’s bike had a stopping distance more than four times that of a conventional pedal cycle.
Under cross examination, he admitted the cyclist had the right of way during the build-up to the accident.
Alliston, of Bermondsey, south London, denies manslaughter and causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving. The trial continues today.
In April this year, Mrs Briggs’ children Isaac, 13, and Emily, 11, and husband Matt, 46, were pictured being consoled by Prince Harry at an Army and Royal Navy rugby match at Twickenham. Charlie Alliston bought track bike, below, a month before the tragedy