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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/17/charlie-alliston-london-cyclist-front-brake-collision-kim-briggs-old-bailey
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| London cyclist tells court front brake would not have prevented fatal crash | London cyclist tells court front brake would not have prevented fatal crash |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A cyclist accused of killing a woman by ploughing into her on a track bicycle has told a court that having a front brake would not have prevented the collision. | A cyclist accused of killing a woman by ploughing into her on a track bicycle has told a court that having a front brake would not have prevented the collision. |
| Charlie Alliston, then 18, was said to have been travelling at 18mph before he struck Kim Briggs, 44, as she crossed Old Street in central London on 12 February 2016. | Charlie Alliston, then 18, was said to have been travelling at 18mph before he struck Kim Briggs, 44, as she crossed Old Street in central London on 12 February 2016. |
| Alliston was riding a “fixie”, a fixed-gear track bicycle, which is not legal on the road without a front brake. | Alliston was riding a “fixie”, a fixed-gear track bicycle, which is not legal on the road without a front brake. |
| He said he had used a similar bike, without a front brake, while working for at least three different courier companies in the months before the collision. | He said he had used a similar bike, without a front brake, while working for at least three different courier companies in the months before the collision. |
| If Alliston’s bike had had such a brake, he would have been able to avoid the collision with the HR consultant, Duncan Penny QC, prosecuting, previously told the Old Bailey in London. | If Alliston’s bike had had such a brake, he would have been able to avoid the collision with the HR consultant, Duncan Penny QC, prosecuting, previously told the Old Bailey in London. |
| Alliston, 20, of Bermondsey, south London, has denied a charged under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving. In a legal first, he also faces an additional charge of the manslaughter of Briggs, a mother of two from Lewisham, south-east London. | Alliston, 20, of Bermondsey, south London, has denied a charged under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving. In a legal first, he also faces an additional charge of the manslaughter of Briggs, a mother of two from Lewisham, south-east London. |
| Giving evidence, Alliston said he did not know a front brake was a legal requirement and insisted that having one would not have made a difference when he saw Briggs step into the road holding a mobile phone. | Giving evidence, Alliston said he did not know a front brake was a legal requirement and insisted that having one would not have made a difference when he saw Briggs step into the road holding a mobile phone. |
| “I tried to go around,” he said. “Having a brake, I wouldn’t have had enough time to pull it. It was a few split seconds prior to the impact, which caused the impact, so a brake at the time wouldn’t have made a difference.” | “I tried to go around,” he said. “Having a brake, I wouldn’t have had enough time to pull it. It was a few split seconds prior to the impact, which caused the impact, so a brake at the time wouldn’t have made a difference.” |
| The defendant had been riding a black Planet X carbon frame bicycle, a type more commonly seen racing at the Olympic velodrome, jurors were previously told. | The defendant had been riding a black Planet X carbon frame bicycle, a type more commonly seen racing at the Olympic velodrome, jurors were previously told. |
| Briggs, who had been on her lunch break, sustained “catastrophic” head injuries and died in hospital a week after the incident. | |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |