Audi driver found guilty over pedestrian death

Audi driver Albert Jarosz has been convicted of causing death by dangerous driving

A man whose turbo-charged car hit and killed a pedestrian on a crossing has been convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.

Rodrigo-Vasile Cosma, 25, died after being hit by the Audi A6 at a junction in Bedford town centre on 26 March 2024.

Albert Jarosz, 27, of Brereton Road, Bedford, was found guilty by a jury at Luton Crown Court.

A police crash investigator estimated the car was travelling at 45mph (72km/h) in a 30mph (48km/h) zone.

Jurors heard how the accident happened at about 18:30 GMT at the junction of Midland Road, River Street and Greyfriars.

Prosecutor Sam Barker told the trial that Mr Cosma was crossing the road just after the traffic lights turned green.

Jarosz moved into a left-hand lane, before cutting back into a right-hand lane to get ahead in a "selfish" move, he said.

Jarosz, who came from Poland in 2019, said he had been driving home from a garage in nearby Milton Ernest, where he was a car body worker.

He said he had been driving in the UK for four years before the collision, but had not read the Highway Code, and was unfamiliar with the road layout in central Bedford.

"I just followed the road but, before the traffic lights, I realised I am in the wrong lane, so I decided to change lanes," Jarosz told the trial.

"I thought I had got enough time to get in front of the stationary cars.

"I accelerated a bit just to get in front of the cars."

Jarosz stopped and called 999 after the accident, jurors were told.

One of the witnesses said he saw him with his head in his hands, saying: ''I am sorry''.

Jarosz had already pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving.

Court staff said Judge Allison Hunter had adjourned sentencing to 14 October.