Good samaritan ‘fatally ran over actor’s mother’
Binman accused of death as he moved her car
WHEN 88-year- old Olive Stevens was driving to the hairdresser and found the country lane blocked, a helpful binman offered to drive her car around the obstruction.
Unfortunately, his good deed turned to tragedy when he ran her over with her own Nissan Micra and killed her, a court heard yesterday.
A witness claimed the silver car ‘lurched’ backwards into a grass bank, then forwards and back again, with tyres smoking. Mrs Stevens was left stricken on the ground.
Yesterday Orlando Greenidge, 57, went on trial accused of causing death by dangerous driving.
The incident happened when Mrs Stevens was on her way to have her hair done near her home in Orpington, Kent, at 8am on November 6, 2014.
Her car was an automatic and she was described as a ‘competent and experienced driver’ by her son – comedy actor Michael Fenton Stevens who has more than 85 film and TV acting credits, including episodes of Only Fools and Horses, East-Enders, Coronation Street and Mr Bean.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer told Croydon Crown Court: ‘She was driving along a single track country road.
‘The evidence suggests that as she drove along she came across some rubbish that had been fly-tipped in the road, blocking her way.
‘It appears she began to reverse back along the lane until she encountered a refuse vehicle coming along.
‘The rubbish truck was in the process of completing its usual collection round. Mr
‘The wheels were spinning’
Greenidge was in a passenger seat. Mrs Stevens got out of her car and spoke to the driver of the truck and told him about the fly-tip up ahead.’
The court heard the driver of the lorry, Tom McCulloch, was about to park his truck to help Mrs Stevens and had only driven 10ft when Greenidge jumped out.
Only when another colleague said ‘what’s going on?’ was the driver’s attention diverted to Greenidge.
Miss Heer said: ‘The defendant got down from the rubbish truck and went over to Mrs Stevens and her car.
‘The next thing the driver noticed was the sound of Mrs Stevens’ car revving – the sound of an engine with high revs.
‘When he looked up he saw the silver Micra lurching backwards and hitting the grass bank, then heading forward before reversing and hitting the grass bank again.
‘He recalls seeing smoke coming from the wheels, which were still spinning. At this stage he couldn’t see who was driving.
‘It was only when he got out of the cab that he saw Mrs Stevens lying on the ground, clearly injured.’
The pensioner had banged her head, causing a bleed on the brain, and died later at King’s College Hospital, the court heard.
Greenidge, who was working for refuse collection service Veolia at the time, denies causing death by dangerous driving, and two other charges of causing death while unlicensed and uninsured.
The court heard that immediately after the accident Greenidge, of Thornton Heath, Surrey, was seen standing by Mrs Stevens shouting: ‘What have you done?’
Greenidge disputes that he was driving the car, claiming he was not fully in the vehicle when it lurched backwards.
He denies touching the handbrake or selecting a gear until after the car came to a halt, or that he was aware it was automatic.
Greenidge says he was half-standing in the car when it hit Mrs Stevens, who he claims left the vehicle in gear, but admits he should not have offered to drive it.
Miss Heer said: ‘It is not suggested that the defendant intended to hurt Mrs Stevens or that he deliberately drove at her. But it is the prosecution’s case that the accident and the injury to Mrs Stevens and her subsequent death was caused as a result of the defendant’s failure to exercise sufficient care and attention over what he was doing.’
At the time of Mrs Stevens’ death, her son described the incident as a ‘terrible tragedy’ adding: ‘My mum truly was the life and soul of the party.’
The trial continues.