Weavering man was doing 87mph seconds before fatal crash which killed couple in Thurnham Lane, Bearsted, trial hears
A motorist who struck and killed a couple as they walked a dog on an icy country lane was driving at 87mph just seconds prior to the fatal smash, a court has heard. Scott Gunn, from Weavering in Maidstone, had bought his BMW X5 seven days before the collision in Thurnham Lane, Bearsted, on January 20 last year.
Having lost control of the vehicle on a road with a 60mph limit, he skidded and hit Thomas and Susan Corkery, who were out with a friend's dog, Gracie, at the time. All three were killed.[1] Gunn, 38, is now on trial at Maidstone Crown Court where he denies two offences of causing death by dangerous driving.
The jury was told that the defendant has admitted causing the death of the couple by careless driving, as well as a charge in relation to the dog. But opening the case against Gunn on Monday (November 24), prosecutor Richard Hillman explained it was the Crown's case that his driving "fell far below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver", and was not only dangerous but "obviously" dangerous. As well as the weather being wintry, a sign had been erected just over half a mile from the crash site warning of the risk of ice on the road, and CCTV from a nearby farm entrance had captured other vehicles driving along the lane at between 20 and 22mph.
However, the BMW's own airbag control module produced data which, when analysed, revealed that in the five seconds leading up to the collision, Gunn had accelerated to 87mph.
Another dog walker told police how he had been passed by the car travelling at "terrific speed" and, in response, had waved his arm in a bid to alert the driver to the ice ahead. Sadly, Mr and Mrs Corkery - and Gracie - died at the roadside. The court heard that on impact from the vehicle's nearside, the couple, aged 61 and 68 respectively, had been thrown into a hedge while the BMW "bounced off" and continued for a short distance up the road before coming to a halt.
Gunn got out and, having asked an eye-witness for a phone, was reportedly heard to say words to the effect of he was "going too fast" and either did not "know" there was ice or did not "see" it.
Mr Hillman told the jury the prosecution would seek to prove it was "not simply a case of careless driving". "We submit, once you have heard the evidence, you will be sure his driving was dangerous and he was driving dangerously," the lawyer explained. "You will be sure his driving fell far below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver, and that it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous."
The jury was told it was not known who, why or when the warning sign about ice had been put in place but Gunn would have driven past it on that "cold, winter's day". Mr Hillman also said the defendant lived about an eight-minute drive from the scene so would have had "some familiarity" with local roads and Thurnham Lane in particular.
Referring to the speed of the BMW and the fact the lane was "well-known" for people and horse riders to use, he told the court: "The speed limit for that road is 60mph, but it's a limit, not a target. "The Crown's case is that the driving of a vehicle in a country lane at 87mph cannot be considered as anything other than driving that falls far below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver, and it would be obvious that driving would be dangerous."
Shortly before the fatal smash, Mr and Mrs Corkery, with Gracie, had been at the Black Horse Inn in Thurnham. As they sat in two armchairs drinking tea or coffee, they chatted with family at an adjacent table, and had even advised them to be careful about the icy road, said the prosecutor.
It was at around 1.40pm that another dog owner, David Scott, overtook the couple on foot as they walked in the same direction along Thurnham Lane with the dog.
Mr Scott had noticed a patch of ice about 50 yards long on the road and it was as he approached a stretch under the M20 motorway that he saw the BMW pass him. "He described it as driving at terrific speed, flicking up gravel as it headed towards a slight bend in the road," explained the prosecutor.
"He says he has not seen another vehicle travelling as fast as that car. In fact, he tried to flag the driver down to alert him to the slush and ice on the road by waving his arm up and down. "The vehicle passed him, tried to brake and skidded straightaway.
The car turned sideways as it tried to make the bend and impacted with the two people on its passenger side, throwing them into the hedge.
"Mr Scott said the vehicle was out of control and collided within two seconds of passing him." Another walker told police the BMW was "going the quickest he had ever seen" a vehicle along that road - one without a footpath - and was throwing up grit as it did so. Within a split second of it passing him, he heard a bang, the jury was told.
A resident was in a field on her farm when she too said she had seen a vehicle coming up the road at excessive speed, and that temperatures had been sub-zero all week. I was slowing down as I came to the bend. I didn't see the ice until the last second...
Several emergency vehicles attended the scene which, in a video filmed by police that same day and played in court, could be seen to be covered with slush and ice.
One officer described the ice as being "clear to see" but, having lowered his speed, did not lose control and felt no adverse effect on his steering or braking, the court heard. Gunn also spoke to police at the scene and, when asked how fast he had been driving, was captured on body-worn camera stating: "I don't know. I was probably over the limit.
Not by much. "I was slowing down as I came to the bend. I didn't see the ice until the last second."
A passenger in the BMW told police he had been looking at his phone at the time and could not be sure of the vehicle's speed.
Gunn, of Grove Green Road, was interviewed by police a month later and, before answering 'No comment' to the questions asked, he gave a prepared statement in which he expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the victims.
He also described being "left in shock" by the incident, adding it was one from which he would "never recover".
The trial continues.
References
- ^ All three were killed. (premium.kentonline.co.uk)