Cyclist Paul James 'dragged 115ft after being hit by two cars'

Paul James died in April 2019

A councillor was knocked off his bike when he was clipped by a car's wing mirror and was dragged about 115 ft (35m) by another car, killing him, a court has heard.

Paul James, 61, was cycling on the A487 near Aberystwyth on 11 April 2019.

Lowri Powell, 43, from Penrhyncoch and Christopher Jones, 40, from Devil's Bridge, both deny causing death by careless driving.

Swansea Crown Court heard the drivers were "dazzled" by low sun.

Prosecutor Jim Davis told the court Ceredigion councillor Mr James was cycling uphill towards a bend in the road between Waun Fawr and Comins Coch.

He was first hit by the wing mirror on the passenger side of Ms Powell's Ford Galaxy.

He fell into the road and was then hit by Mr Jones' Vauxhall Vectra and dragged along.

Mr James' relatives broke down in tears in the public gallery as the jury was told how he was pronounced dead at the scene.

'The sun was bright'

The court heard that both drivers told police that due to the glare from the sun neither of them had seen Mr James.

Two witnesses gave written statements in which they said they had seen Mr James cycling minutes before his death.

Both Elizabeth Flemming and Christine Evans said weather conditions were good.

Another witness, Gwawr Williams, who worked with Mr James at Aberystwyth University and is a neighbour of Ms Powell, was driving along the road at the time and said the sun was bright

She described seeing Mr James wobbling on his bike before Mr Jones' car drove over him.

"I saw the cyclist on the road and a car came up after and went over the cyclist," she said.

"I looked to where the bike had fallen and there was nobody there. There was no sign of the cyclist.

"He didn't have a chance to brake," she said.

A fourth witness, Simon Marshall, whose dashcam footage has been shown to the jury, explained how he tried to help.

"I heard a metallic crash and a car horn and I knew there'd been an accident from that sound," he said.

The trial continues.