Driver in Shropshire cyclist tragedy tells of feeling 'jolt'
An electrician accused of causing the death of a cyclist by careless driving has told a court he still does not know if he drove over him.
Russel Davies told a jury at Shrewsbury Crown Court he felt a huge "jolt" as he drove his VW van along the B4368 between Craven Arms and Bridgnorth.
He said he turned round and returned to the scene minutes later because he feared tools might have fallen off his van – only to find "carnage" as cyclist John Edmund Searle lay face down in the road with his bicycle close by.
Mr Searle, 59, a teaching assistant, died on the morning of October 17, 2012. Prosecutors say his bike clipped the wing mirror of a car driven by Pamela Willocks before being hit by the van driven by Davies.
Davies, 54, of Burway Road, Church Stretton, and Willocks, 50, of Watling Street South, Church Stretton, both deny causing the death of Mr Searle by careless driving.
Giving evidence at court yesterday, Davies said he had been on the way to a job when it happened.
He said: "All of a sudden the near side wheel on the van struck something on the road There was a massive jolt. It felt like something like a raised drain cover or something at the time.
"I was a bit worried something had fallen off the vehicle into the road and that was why we went back really."
He said he was greeted with "carnage". "It was not what I expected to see when I came back round the bend," he added.
Davies' solicitor Miss Kim Halsall asked him: "Do you know if your vehicle went over his bicycle?"
He replied: "No. I didn't know at the time, I didn't know what I had gone over."
Miss Halsall added: "The prosecution also say your vehicle drove over Mr Searle."
Davies replied: "I can't say. I don't know what I went over at the time."
The trial continues.
