The last moments of a motorcyclist who was killed in a horrific accident in Inverness were described at the city’s sheriff court yesterday.
Prison officer Paul Todd suffered fatal injuries when his bike collided with a Skoda driven by Barbara Ardell on Damfield Road on July 18 last year.
As her trial got underway yesterday, jurors were told Mr Todd, of Alcaig, Conon Bridge, may have been travelling at speeds of up to 50mph at the time of the crash.
One witness claimed the motorcyclist was going like a “bat out of hell”.
Ardell, 63, from Georgia in the US, denies causing Mr Todd’s death by careless driving by carrying out a right turn in the face of the oncoming bike.
The accident happened at the light-controlled junction of Damfield Road and Kingsmills road.
Tyre company manager Paul Fraser, 31, of Aberdeen, told the court he had been on holiday in Fort William and was returning to the Lochaber town after a trip round Loch Ness when he found himself at the centre of the tragedy.
He said: “I was coming up the hill towards the hotel and I saw the Skoda in the outside lane, stationary, waiting to turn right.
“I didn’t expect her to move off, but as she began to turn, the motor bike went into the side of the car. I couldn’t tell how fast it was going or the car. It was like an explosion with debris flying about all over the place.
“I could see the biker twisting but I didn’t see him land. The bike slid towards my car but came to a stop. I stopped, switched on my hazard lights and positioned my car to block oncoming traffic before going to see if I could help.”
Shopkeeper Alex Dickson, 66, said he had been heading towards the junction with Kingsmills Road when Mr Todd’s motorbike went past him.
“He carried on accelerating as he approached the junction. Then I saw the bike fall over and slide into the Skoda,” he said.
Mr Dickson was asked by fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart if he had spoken to Mrs Ardell after the accident and assured her: “There was nothing you could do. You had almost completed the turn and this guy was going like a bat out of hell.”
He agreed that he could have said something like that, adding: “It certainly reflects the sequence of events.”
Mr Dickson also agreed with defence counsel Mark Moir that he told police in a statement 20 minutes after the collision that he thought the bike was travelling at 45-50mph.
Another eyewitness, 19-year-old trainee linesman Kieran Hardie, told the court he was riding his BMX bike in the Walker Park skate park when he heard a revving noise.
“I thought it was a car or a motor bike. I heard it before I saw it was a motorbike,” he said.
“It overtook one car, possibly two and then it went to go back on to its own side of the road. Then I heard a bang. I didn’t see him hit the car.
“The Skoda had its passenger side bashed in. It was turning right and had stopped mid-turn. The motor bike was going faster than the 30mph speed limit. It was 40-45mph.”
Paramedic Kevin Stewart, 57, was on the scene within minutes, and found Mr Todd lying face down on the road.
He said: “We removed his helmet and turned him over. There was no pulse or respiration so we managed his airway and began CPR all the way to the hospital.”
The trial, which is expected to end on Thursday, continues.