A cabbie accused of causing the death of pedestrian has rejected prosecution suggestions that he must have seen what shattered his windscreen during an early hours collision.
Dewsbury man Mohammed Imtiaz has denied causing the death of 28-year-old Scholes woman Vicky Holland by careless driving and today he was pressed about what he saw in the lead-up to the impact on the A58 Whitehall Road at Wyke in May last year.
The collision left Miss Holland with multiple injuries from which she later died and during questioning by prosecutor David Gordon 45-year-old Imtiaz maintained that he never saw her before the impact.
Mr Gordon said it appeared to be agreed that Miss Holland was seven or eight metres into the road when she was struck by the front offside of Imtiaz’s Toyota Corolla vehicle.
Imtiaz has told the jury at Bradford Crown Court that he thought a stone had been thrown at his car when part of his windscreen suddenly shattered.
“Where you looking ahead at this time or was your attention somewhere else?” asked Mr Gordon.
“Looking ahead,” replied Imtiaz.
“So, if only for the briefest moment, you must have seen what hit your windscreen,” suggested Mr Gordon.
“I was doing my routine checks,” said Imtiaz.
“Maybe I was looking in the mirror.”
“It’s obvious to you, I suggest Mr Imtiaz, that a large object, about the size of an adult woman’s body, is perhaps only momentarily right in front of your eyes while the windscreen has been smashed,” continued Mr Gordon.
“I didn’t see anything,” insisted Imtiaz.
Mr Gordon pointed out that a hair, which chemically matched Miss Holland’s, was recovered from the shattered windscreen and he suggested that her head had struck the windscreen.
“I’m suggesting you must have been aware that this was not a rock. This was not a stone,” said Mr Gordon.
“No,” said Imtiaz.
Mr Gordon said the jury had heard that there was also damage to the car’s headlight, side panel and the ‘A’ pillar of the windscreen.
“This was right in front of you,” said Mr Gordon.
“Did you not even suspect that you may have hit, if not a human, then perhaps a dog or some other large object?” asked Mr Gordon.
“No,” replied Imtiaz.
The jury has seen CCTV from a petrol station which shows Imtiaz’s vehicle slowing down after the traffic light junction, but he then continued to drive to Halifax where he dropped off his female passenger and pick up three men who wanted to go to Birstall and Gomersal.
On his way back he returned to the same junction about 20 minutes after the collision and saw “blue lights” and the road closed.
But Imtiaz said he did not think he had been involved in an accident and he carried on driving using an alternative route.
The court has heard that Imtiaz, of Healds Road, went to a police station about 90 minutes after the collision.
He said he had returned home after dropping off the men and had discovered the extent of the damage to his vehicle when he parked on his driveway.
The court has heard that despite police inquiries and media appeals the female passenger said to be in Imtiaz’s taxi at the time of the collision has never been traced.
He told the jury that the woman had initially asked if they had hit another car at the junction, but she then saw the windscreen and suggested that a stone may have been thrown at the vehicle.
Imtiaz maintained that he had not seen any pedestrian either standing on the pavement or walking or running in the road before the collision.
“So it’s not a question of seeing Miss Holland but only at the last moment.” said Mr Gordon.
“That’s not what happened here,”
“No,” replied Imtiaz.
“It’s not that you saw her for 1.5 seconds. You say you never saw her at all,” stated Mr Gordon.
“That’s right, yeah” replied Imtiaz.
The trial continues.
