David Fudge: Motorcyclist killed by U-turning driver, jury hears

William Curtis denies causing the death of David Fudge by careless driving

A driver killed a motorcyclist when performing a U-turn after taking the wrong exit, a court heard.

William Curtis pulled out of an access gate shortly after leaving a roundabout on the A4146 near Billington, Bedfordshire, on 18 November 2018.

He collided with and killed David Fudge, 66, who was performing a "lawful overtake", Cambridge Crown Court heard.

Mr Curtis, 88, of Oak Close, Irchester, Northamptonshire, denies causing death by careless driving.

Opening the case, prosecutor Simon Wilshire said Mr Curtis was driving his wife in a Hyundai i10 and, shortly after 13:00 GMT, took the "wrong exit at a roundabout".

Mr Curtis was "heading south in a direction he didn't want to go" and pulled into a "patch of hard standing", jurors were told.

Mr Wilshire said a driver behind believed "the vehicle was going to pull out and continuing in the same direction it was going".

The court heard Mr Curtis performed a U-turn, which that driver said was "strange as there was another roundabout a short distance ahead".

David Fudge was pronounced dead at the scene

Mr Wilshire said Mr Curtis' car collided with Mr Fudge's motorcycle who, at the time of the crash, was performing a "lawful overtake".

The court heard there was "no evidence to say he was exceeding the speed limit".

Both vehicles caught fire and Mr Fudge died at the scene.

Jurors heard another member of Mr Fudge's motorcycle group heard Mr Curtis, who had been removed from his vehicle, state: "I can't remember anything about what just happened."

The court was told forensic collision investigator PC Ed Colley concluded the "primary causes of the collision were two-fold".

They were "Mr Curtis' choice of u-turn location" and his failure to comply with the duty to ensure a safe gap before conducting his manoeuvre, Mr Wilshire said.

He added not all experts agree with PC Colley, and some included "colleagues of his" involved in the investigation.

The trial continues.