Charlie Heywood: Driver 'had three times cannabis limit in system' before fatal crash
An uninsured driver had three times the legal limit of cannabis in his system when his Mercedes struck a student on his way home from a night out, killing him outright, a court heard.
James Wilson broke down when quizzed by police later as it emerged he knew the victim, 19-year-old Charlie Heywood, whom he described as ‘a nice lad’.
A friend of Mr Heywood’s spoke of hearing a bang seconds after dropping him off near his home in Great Barr.
They had been to a party where the victim had been drinking heavily but was able to walk unaided, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Wilson, also 19 and of Chudleigh Grove, Great Barr, pleads not guilty to causing death by careless driving while under the influence of cannabis when he hit Mr Heywood as he crossed the A34 Birmingham Road at 3.40am on June 5, 2016.
Prosecuting, Mr Patrick Sullivan, told the jury that the issue in dispute was whether Wilson’s driving was at fault that night.
In interview the defendant estimated he was travelling at around 40mph although he was aware that the speed limit was 30mph.
He admitted that he had ‘a few spliffs’ but a test found that he had at least 6.3mg of cannabis in his blood, more than three times the legal maximum of 2mg.
He claimed the victim had run out in front of his car leaving him nowhere to go.
He had braked and swerved but could not avoid hitting Mr Heywood.
The jury was shown CCTV footage of Mr Heywood alighting from his friend Tom Collins’ Vauxhall Astra in Pages Lane and walking up a bank towards the Birmingham Road.
Police collision investigators concluded he had been travelling at between 34 and 41mph.
Further inquiries showed that the Mercedes had been driven ‘erratically’ earlier that evening, either significantly under the speed limit or suddenly speeding up ‘indicative of someone who has taken that much cannabis’, said Mr Sullivan.
Mr Heywood had been to the 30th birthday party of his friend Connor Jordan’s brother that evening where he had become intoxicated on beer and also had some cocaine, the court heard.
Mr Jordan told police in a statement that his friend was ‘very drunk and unsteady on his feet but did not need assistance walking’.
Tom Collins said that about six seconds after he had dropped off his friend he heard the bang.
He went on: “I knew immediately something had happened to Charlie.
“There was no skidding or screeching, just the bang.”
The court heard there was extensive damage to the front of the Mercedes.
It is the prosecution’s case that the defendant was driving too fast.
The jury heard that it was suggested to Wilson by Pc Stuart Thorpe who interviewed him after the collision, that he knew the deceased.
“He said ‘that’s how sad it is, yeah I knew Charlie through a friend, he’s a nice lad’ and then he cried,” Pc Thorpe told the jury.
The trial continues.
