Cyclist who hit pedestrian 'shouted at her as she lay on the ground dying'

A cyclist accused of killing a woman after crashing into her on his racing bike shouted at her as she lay dying on the ground, a court has heard.

Charlie Alliston, 20, collided with HR consultant Kim Briggs, 44, at nearly 32km/h in OId Street, central London in February last year.

The former courier, who was 18 at the time, later posted to Facebook to say that people have “zero respect” for cyclists, jurors were told.

Mr Alliston was riding a Planet X fixed-gear track bicycle with no front brake, which is not legal on the road without modification.

Expert tests found that if the bike had a front brake, Mr Alliston would have been able to stop and avoid the collision on February 12 last year, the Old Bailey was told.

Met Police forensic collision investigator Edward Small said tests showed that “using a fixed wheel cycle with a front brake cuts the stopping distance”.

“He would have been able to stop at the available distance and avoid the collision in time,” Mr Small said.

Mother-of-two Briggs died from her “catastrophic” injuries a week after the collision, having suffered two skull fractures.

In a statement, witness David Callan said he was waiting at a pedestrian crossing on the north side of Old Street, to the west of the intersection with Charlotte Road, at about 12.15pm.

“I had my head down looking at something on my phone, when I heard a shout,” he said.

“I couldn’t tell what was shouted but it made me look up immediately, just in time to see a collision between a cyclist and a pedestrian.

“The pedestrian wasn’t using the pedestrian crossing, and the collision occurred approximately 30 or so feet after the crossing.”

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Mr Callan said the cyclist “flew through the air as the pedestrian fell at the point of impact”.

“The cyclist clattered to the ground further down the road, but quickly sprang to their feet, shouting something at the pedestrian as they took a step towards the pedestrian, who lay on the ground,” he said.

“It sounded like the same voice I heard immediately prior to the collision.”

“The cyclist froze after taking that initial step, seeing the pedestrian was still lying on the ground.

“At this point I became aware of two men who appeared to be loading or unloading from a van parked near to the collision on the same south side of Old Street.”

Mr Callan said the men unloading the van walked towards the pedestrian and the cyclist stayed a few feet back.

“One of the two men started to use his phone, which I assumed was to call an ambulance,” he said.

“And he also told the other man to retrieve the pedestrian’s phone from the middle of the road.”

Mr Small said the Mr Alliston was cycling at an average speed of 28km/h along Old Street, and was between 6.5-9.5m away from Mrs Briggs.

Jurors were told Mr Alliston had slowed down to between 16-22km/h before the collision, but was unable to stop in time.

In one set of tests, investigators found a conventional bike with brakes could be stopped at about 3 metres, the court heard.

Mr Alliton is said to have written: “I feel bad due to the seriousness of her injuries but I can put my hand up and say this is not my fault.

“People either think they are invincible or have zero respect for cyclists.”

Mr Alliston, of Bermondsey, southeast London, denies manslaughter, and causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving.

The trial continues.