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London cyclist tells court front brake would not have prevented fatal crash London cyclist accused of killing woman denies being thrill-seeker
(about 3 hours 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 former bicycle courier accused of killing a woman by knocking her down in east London has denied being a thrill-seeker and told a court he did not “get a kick” out of riding dangerously.
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, who was 18 when he collided with Kim Briggs as she crossed Old Street on 12 February 2016, told jurors he knew what he was doing at all times when on a bike.
Alliston was riding a “fixie”, a fixed-gear track bicycle, which is not legal on the road without a front brake. The court previously heard that Alliston, who said he never wore a helmet, was riding a “fixie”, a fixed-gear track bicycle, without a front brake at the time of the incident.
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. But the defendant, now 20, told the jury he was unaware that it was illegal to ride a fixed-gear track bike on the road without a front brake, and said he believed having one would not have prevented 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. During cross-examination, Duncan Penny QC, prosecuting, questioned Alliston over a tweet he sent in February 2015 that compared cycling without a front brake to being in a “Lucas Brunelle movie”.
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. Brunelle makes “alleycat” videos, in which he rides around cities including London “doing dangerous stuff” such as weaving in and out of traffic, narrowly avoiding pedestrians and going into bus lanes, the Old Bailey heard.
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. Alliston denied copying the film-maker and enjoying taking risks. “I wouldn’t say I drove recklessly or at any time dangerously,” he said. “At all times I would know what I’m doing and be completely responsible for my actions. I did not get a kick or enjoyment out of not being safe.”
“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.” Alliston, of Bermondsey, south London, denies a charge under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving. In a legal first, he faces an additional charge of the manslaughter of Briggs, a mother of two from Lewisham, south-east London.
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 court heard that in January 2016, Alliston paid £470 for a secondhand Planet X bicycle worth £700 when new, telling the vendor he used to be a courier and wanted to use it for track cycling.
Briggs, who had been on her lunch break, sustained “catastrophic” head injuries and died in hospital a week after the incident. He said he had worked as a courier for three different companies based in central London for about six to eight months from mid 2015, but by the time of the collision, he was working for a scaffolding business.
Alliston, wearing a white shirt and jeans, told the jury he had worked as a courier for three different companies based in central London for around six to eight months from mid-2015. Alliston had taken the bike out on 12 February last year to buy food in Shoreditch for himself and his girlfriend. “I was cycling at a safe and reasonable speed personal to myself,” Alliston told the court. “I was capable at the time of controlling it.”
He told the court he was never made aware of the legal requirement to have a front brake, adding he never had an accident in the course of his work. Alliston said he shouted twice after spotting Briggs. Asked why he did so, the defendant replied: “To make the pedestrian aware of my presence, so they were aware if they were to then cross the road.”
His barrister, Mark Wyeth QC, asked: “Were you aware at any point in your life up to the collision on 12 February 2016 that there was this regulation that ‘fixies’ had to have a front brake?” He said he directed a second shout towards Briggs and slowed down as he approached her, while manoeuvring his bike to avoid her. “After the collision I just jumped straight back up to my feet, turned around, saw what happened and then went blank,” Alliston said.
“No,” said Alliston. Briggs, 44, who had been on her lunch break, sustained “catastrophic” head injuries and died in hospital a week after the incident.
In January last year, Alliston bought a £700 Planet X bike second-hand for £470, telling the vendor he used to be a courier and wanted to use it for track cycling. Alliston told the court that if he had had 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”.
Alliston told the court, under cross examination by prosecutor Duncan Penny QC, he had never ridden on a track. The trial continues on Friday, when prosecution and defence barristers will give their closing speeches, before the judge, Wendy Joseph QC, sums up the case. She told jurors they would retire to consider their verdicts on Monday.
Jurors were told that Alliston talked of removing his front brake from an earlier bike – a Cinelli – in a tweet in February 2015, comparing the experience of riding it to being in a “Lucas Brunelle movie”.
The court heard that Brunelle makes “alleycat” videos, in which he rides around cities including London “doing dangerous stuff” such as weaving in and out of traffic, narrowly avoiding pedestrians and going into bus lanes.
But Alliston, who admitted not wearing a helmet, denied copying the film-maker, or enjoying taking risks.
“I wouldn’t say I drove recklessly or at any time dangerously,” he said. “At all times I would know what I’m doing and be completely responsible for my actions.”
He added: “I did not get a kick or enjoyment out of not being safe.”
The trial continues.