Charlie Heywood: Mercedes driven 'aggressively' before fatal collision
A Mercedes car involved in a fatal collision in Great Barr had been driven 'aggressively' before ploughing into 19-year-old student Charlie Heywood, a jury heard.
A police collisions expert said that a telematics box installed in the car revealed a large number of sharp accelerations and decelerations as well as speeding alerts.
James Wilson, also 19, who was behind the wheel, had three times the legal limit of cannabis in his system at the time of the accident in the early hours of June 5, 2016.
Mr Heywood was struck as he crossed the A34 Birmingham Road on his way home from a party, yards from his home in Morjon Drive.
Nigel Power, a police collision investigator who was sent to the scene, said Wilson had not braked before hitting the victim, tossing him over the bonnet, just before the BP garage on the approach to junction 7 of the M6.
He calculated the defendant was travelling between 34 – 41mph, and in his view 'at the higher end' of that estimate, even though the speed limit on the dual carriageway at that stretch is 30mph, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
He also said the amount of cannabis taken by Wilson would have slowed his driving reaction times and decision-making, and could have altered his perception of time and distance.
"Clearly he had more than three times the legal limit of cannabis in his body and this would have a profound effect on his reaction to the presence of a pedestrian in front of his vehicle which is probably why he failed to react sooner," he told the jury.
He added that the alcohol and small amount of cocaine Mr Heywood had consumed would had a 'negative effect' on him and impaired his co-ordination.
Mr Power, now retired from the police force, said that an examination of CCTV footage showed that the spot near Pages Lane where Mr Heywood was dropped off by friends just prior to the collision was 'in a small pool of shadow' due to the lack of street lighting, although other parts of the road were well lit.
"I don't believe he would have been easy to see," he said.
He said there was extensive damage to the front of the Mercendes Benz 180, with parts of the undercarriage and flecks of paint strewn across the road from the impact.
Wilson, of Chudleigh Grove, Great Barr, pleads not guilty to causing death by careless driving while under the influence of cannabis. The trial continues.
