A FATHER-of-two died after his motorcycle was involved in a head-on collision with a car which was overtaking another vehicle on the brow of a hill, it has been alleged.
Derek Foster, 37, of Saffron Walden, had set off for work on July 4 last year and was riding his Honda 125 on the B1054 near Hempstead in Essex at 7.15am when he was hit by a car driven by 30-year-old Philip Graham, Ipswich Crown Court was told.
Mr Foster died after suffering multiple injures, said Peter Gair, prosecuting.
Graham of Quendon Place, Haverhill, has denied causing Mr Foster’s death by dangerous driving.
Mr Gair told the court that Graham accepted he was driving carelessly on the day in question but disputed that he was driving dangerously.
Mr Gair told the court that Graham had been driving along the B1054 from Haverhill to Audley End to catch a train, while Mr Foster was driving in the direction of Haverhill from his home in Saffron Walden.
Mr Gair alleged that Graham had pulled out to overtake a car on the brow of a hill and had collided with Mr Foster.
“The evidence would suggest that the defendant couldn’t see the road ahead clearly as it is a blind hill,” said Mr Gair.
He said the speedometer on Graham’s car was stuck at 55mph after the collision and if Mr Foster had been travelling at a similar speed an expert had estimated that they would only have seen each other 1.5-1.7 seconds before impact.
After the collision Graham was interviewed by police and said he had been using that road for about a year and knew it well.
The trial continues today.
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