Chief inspector 'did not stop' after A45 Coventry crash
Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 7:57 pm
A police chief inspector whose car hit a student on a dual carriageway failed to stop and later claimed he hit a post, Shrewsbury Crown Court has heard.
Jamie Jones, from West Midlands Police, hit Raymond Cheung on the A45 in Coventry while off-duty in March 2009.
He is charged with misconduct in a public office for failing to stop at the scene and dangerous driving.
The court heard the charge relates to his alleged actions after the crash, but not to causing Mr Cheung's death.
Mr Jones, 38, of Allesley in Coventry, was driving along the Coventry-bound carriageway in his BMW Series 5 just below the speed limit of 60mph.
Malcolm Morse, prosecuting, said the Warwick University student emerged "from a shadow on an unlit road" in dark clothing a second or two before the collision making it "entirely avoidable".
The 20-year-old student, from Hong Kong, had parked near the A45 but left his mobile phone and wallet in his vehicle, the court heard.
He had recently had a "falling out" with a female student at the university and may have deliberately walked into the oncoming traffic.
After the collision, Mr Jones carried on driving and Mr Cheung's body was struck by a second car in the road, the court heard.
Mr Morse said: "He is not criminally responsible for Raymond Cheung's death, there was nothing he could have done to avoid it."
But Mr Jones "must have known" he had hit a person and failed in his duty as a police officer when he did not pull over at the scene, he added.
'Blood on windscreen'
"He did not stop," he said.
"There is some evidence from a taxi driver who was on the scene at the time of the collision that he actually speeded up and he drove away."
The jury was told that a post-mortem examination found evidence that Mr Cheung had been upright in the road when he was hit and had subsequently hit the windscreen of the BMW.
Mr Morse said: "We know his body must have done that because, later on, hair and skin and blood from him was found in the damaged glass of the windscreen."
The charge of dangerous driving relates to the allegation that Mr Jones continued to drive with a smashed windscreen.
After the incident, Mr Jones told police officers he believed he had struck a post, the jury heard.
He told the officers he heard a "loud pop" as his windscreen smashed and hoped he had not hit someone, Mr Morse said.
Mr Morse added: "In response to their silence he said words to the effect of, 'Oh God, it was a person wasn't it?'"
The trial continues.
