Driver claims nurse ‘just shot out’ moments before fatal crash
A driver accused of causing the death of a nurse by careless driving said after the collision, “he just shot out”. In a voluntarily police interview, Chris Germany was asked about the incident – which happened as he took his son to school on the A616 Ollerton[1] Road, Kneesall, on June 26, 2021.
A jury has heard Solomon Billa’s Skoda made contact with Germany’s BMW. Mr Billa, 28, died as a result of injuries sustained after his car left the road and hit a tree.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was due to start work at The Farndon Unit, a hospital in Newark.
Germany told officers in his interviews, read to the jury at his trial on Thursday (April 13), he had been driving behind Mr Billa’s Skoda. The Skoda was behind a lorry directly in front.
Germany put his indicator on to overtake – but said Mr Billa pulled out of “nowhere” and “shoots out in front of me”. When asked by an officer in the interview what speed did he think he (Germany) was travelling, he replied: “Around and about the speed limit”.
As Germany was in the course of his overtake on a 50mph limited stretch, it is claimed Mr Billa pulled out and hit Germany’s front wing. “I was probably halfway past him when he started the manoeuvre,” he said.
Germany[3] hit his brakes. He pulled as far across the road as he could and ended up at the side of the road. Damage to his BMW was a paint scuff to his wing mirror and a cracked headlight.
“I can only presume he hadn’t seen me, because there was no way he would have pulled out at that point”, he said. He later added that as he went to do the overtake, “he just shot out”, referring to Mr Billa.
Germany, 55, of Rufford Lane, Rufford, pleads not guilty to causing Mr Billa’s death by careless driving. The prosecution says it was careless due to the speeds.
The jury was told Mr Billa was speeding at 65mph at the point of contact. Mr Germany, going past Mr Billa, must have been going faster than that, it is alleged, because he scrubbed off some speed in 30 metres of braking.