Retrial decision in judge road death case

Matthew Mawdsley died in Birmingham in 2022

Prosecutors are to decide whether a man accused of causing a judge's death as he crossed the road should face a retrial, after jurors failed to reach a verdict.

District judge Matthew Mawdsley, from Manchester, suffered fatal injuries on the A38 Aston Expressway in Birmingham on 16 December 2022.

Elliott Nash, 33, stood trial at Birmingham Crown Court accused of causing death by driving while uninsured.

The case has been adjourned until 4 March, by when the Crown Prosecution Service will decide whether he should face a new trial.

Mr Mawdsley was returning to his hotel after a Christmas celebration with colleagues when he attempted to cross the four-lane carriageway at about 22:00 GMT and was hit by a number of vehicles.

He had been appointed to his role in Birmingham a few weeks earlier.

Jurors heard Nash was on his way home to Willenhall, Walsall, after working at a Christmas market when his car "clipped" Mr Mawdsley, causing him to fall to the ground.

The 33-year-old did not stop and his vehicle was recovered hours later at his home by police investigating the crash.

Prosecutor Phillip Bradley KC told the trial Nash had already pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to driving without insurance and failing to stop at the scene of a collision.

The jury of six men and six women started its deliberations but failed to reach a verdict and was dismissed earlier this week.

Judge Sarah Buckingham adjourned the case while the CPS decides whether Nash should face a new trial on the charge of causing death by driving while uninsured.