A motorist from Kent who was charged with causing the death of a cyclist through dangerous driving may face a retrial after a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case.
John Durey, aged 69, was killed when he was hit head-on by a Mercedes driven by Ayasha Penfold, 20, in May last year, reports Kent Online.
Mr Durey, from Lenham, had been taking part in a time trial at Kingsnorth, near Ashford.
Penfold, who was on the wrong side of the road after overtaking two vehicles before she hit Mr Durey, admitted causing his death through careless driving but pleaded not guilty to the more serious charge of causing death through dangerous driving.
At the conclusion of the four-day trial, the jury was unable to reach a majority decision of whether she was guilty of the more serious offence.
Ahmed Hossain, prosecuting, told the court: “She was driving in the opposite direction when her vehicle struck Mr Durey head on causing him severe injuries which resulted in his death on June 5 last year.
“The road was clear. There was good visibility and it was a straight passage of road.”
He added that Mr Durey would have been visible to the driver for at least 45 seconds.
Penfold, who has been bailed pending a future hearing and given an interim ban from driving, said in her defence: "I felt the lorry and car in front of me were moving slowly and I wanted to overtake them."
The Crown Prosecution Service needs to apply for a retrial within the next week following the lack of a decision at Canterbury Crown Court.
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Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
Quite so, which is why our village 20mph zone covers the whole residential extent. Of course, enforcement is another thing..
£4.
No, that's very doubtful while proper testing would be fully destructive.
In that £1000 exactly scenario, beginners should probably be made aware that pedals will be extra.
What's wrong with dropping down on to the Millenium Bridge, or the swing bridge, then the brief, but satisfying climb back up the hill? #training....
The relatives might of course disagree, but in general I'd countenance a relatively light sentence* if only we could fix it so that those who...
Id forgotten that I got a second hand set of project two's for my getting to work bike over twenty years back.
My bet is that all these tires popping off are from people with bad pressure gauges or they're simply just putting too much air in on purpose. ...
David9694 - you were right! These new autonomous vehicles really are conspiring to run out of control!...