A cyclist has been found not guilty after crashing into a pedestrian who died days later.
Cornelius De Bruin was cycling in Wilmslow Road when he crashed into Ian Roland Gunn, who was crossing the road after shopping at Tesco Express. Sadly, Mr Gunn's health 'deteriorated' due to the injuries he suffered and he died eight days later.
Following his death, Mr De Bruin was arrested and charged with causing bodily harm by 'wanton or reckless driving'. However, following a three-day trial at Bolton Crown Court, a jury found the 23-year-old property manager not guilty after almost two hours in deliberation.
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The trial had heard how Mr De Bruin had crashed into Mr Gunn during a busy Saturday afternoon in Didsbury, with the court shown an eight-minute CCTV video of Mr De Bruin riding his bike in the moments beforehand through Barlow Moor Road and Wilmslow Road.
The footage showed Mr De Bruin running a red light at the junction of Barlow Moor Road and Palatine Road, before eventually turning into Wilmslow Road. It also showed Mr Gunn entering and exiting a Tesco Express in the area before crossing Wilmslow Road, where he was struck by Mr De Bruin.
Witnesses told the trial how Mr De Bruin, 23, was seen riding his bicycle at a 'fast' pace. Peter Clare, who was driving his Land Rover when he was undertaken by Mr De Bruin in the lead-up to the crash, estimated he was going at least '20 mph' and described how he was sat up on the bike while peddling and 'was going very fast.'
Mr Clare told the court that he could 'remember thinking if any one steps out' they would collide with Mr De Bruin, and said 'before I could even finish my thought, he had already hit the chap.'
A separate witness, Carolina Orzsic, had been driving a Nissan Micra that was directly in front of Mr De Bruin and was driving towards Mr Gunn as he crossed Wilmslow Road.
She told the court that she noticed how Mr Gunn had been walking ‘slowly and unsteady’ in the middle of the road and that he was looking 'ahead and not left or right' when he was crossing the road.
The court heard how Ms Orzsic told her daughter, who was in the passenger seat, that she would have to ‘slow down’ and the court heard how she steered her car to the right so she didn’t hit him. During an interview with police, Ms Orzsic said that it was difficult to blame either of the men regarding the collision and added that: “They just saw each other at the last second.”
Pedestrians described how members of the public rushed to Mr Gunn’s aid following the accident. He was seen going in and out of consciousness several times while Mr De Bruin, who was dressed in ‘cycling gear’, was on his feet quite ‘quickly’ and was unharmed.
During the second day of the trial, the jury watched on as Mr De Bruin was called to the stand under cross examination. The court heard how he had been questioned by police if his speed - which prosecutors estimated was 23mph - was appropriate on the road with a 30mph limit.
Mr De Bruin, of Fallowfield, was recorded as saying: “Yeah, I think it was appropriate. If cars can go 30 miles an hour why can’t cyclists go 30 miles an hour? Not that I advise to go 30 miles an hour.”
Originally from Holland, Mr De Bruin has lived in the country for five years and described himself as an ‘intermediate’ and experienced bike rider. During an interview with police, he said he had been riding bikes ‘all his life’ as he was Dutch.
He said he had gone out on the bike ride after a day at work, and said it was 'a nice sunny day' and the ride was a 'leisure ride' on the popular Fallowfield loop that he was familiar with. When asked if he was 'on a time trial and didn't care what happened ahead of him?', he said simply replied 'no, I did care.'
Mr De Bruin said ‘he doesn’t’ know why he hadn’t seen Mr Gunn crossing the road and entering the cycle lane. Mr De Bruin also said that he pressed his brakes and ‘tried to swerve to the right’ to avoid Mr Gunn, who had moved ‘backwards and forwards’ in an effort to avoid the oncoming cyclist.
He said he was in ‘shock’ but was uninjured following the crash and remained at the scene until the paramedics took Mr Gunn to hospital. He said he spoke to a paramedic who thought Mr Gunn was going to be ‘alright’.
At the end of proceedings and following the not guilty verdict, Judge Timothy Clayson thanked the jury for their assistance in the 'short but obvious serious case' and gave his condolences to the Gunn family.
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