Killer driver ‘unlikely to have fainted’ before car struck teen
A DRIVER’S claim that he fainted at the wheel before running over and killing a teenager has been labelled “extremely unlikely” by an expert witness.
Nigel Davies, 54, is accused of causing the death of Deividas Andrijauskas, who died after being struck by the defendant’s car on the A4106 in Porthcawl on October 7, 2016.
Witnesses described Davies’ blue Dacia Sandero drifting prior to the collision when he was seen crossing over the central white line and colliding with Mr Andrijauskas, who was walking on the pavement.
The 19-year-old was taken to hospital by air ambulance but died on October 13, with an official cause of death given as a “traumatic brain injury.”
Davies, of Skylark Road, North Cornelly, Bridgend, denies causing death by dangerous driving and an alternative count of causing death by careless driving. He claims he lost consciousness at the wheel and was not aware when the car diverted from the road.
A trial at Cardiff Crown Court heard evidence on Thursday from Rose Anne Kenny, professor of medical gerontology at Trinity College Dublin, who was asked by prosecutor Matthew Cobbe whether the defendant’s claim was credible.
Prof Kenny said: “The are two points which make a faint extremely unlikely. Firstly, although the seatbelt kept Mr Davies sat upright, if it was a faint in general a person would slump forward or to the side as the body’s natural inclination to try and get into a more horizontal position. This is involuntary.
“Secondly, standing up from a sitting position. Unless the pumping and electrical system [of the heart] were very much back to normal or near normal, blood flow naturally drops when you stand but the pumping and electrical system kicks in to protect the body. In this case I would not expect [Davies] was, without symptoms, standing so quickly out the car after the event, or walking, or running, or moving very quickly across the road. It’s not consistent with a faint.”
The court previously heard that Davies told the police after his arrest that he had run over to Mr Andrijauskas and tried to assist him.
Mr Cobbe added: “Is there anything about the sequence described by Mr
Davies which are consistent with a faint?” Prof Kenny said: “No, I don’t think so.”
Mr Cobbe added: “So surmising what you have been through for your part, the suggestion it was a faint that led to the collision is one that you would sum up as not biologically plausible?” The witness said: “Yes.”
The trial was also told Davies had undertaken a tilt table test in 2017, which was used to stimulate a faint and to establish whether the defendant was prone to such episodes by lowering blood pressure and heart rate.
Prof Kenny said Davies was given a drug to assist the process and had an episode of fainting during the test, regaining consciousness after six seconds.
She said this result could be considered a “false positive” due to his age, the use of the drug and the fact he was taking anti-depressants at the time of the test.
The trial continues.