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Glenn Becker - Source: ONE News -
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Day two of hearings will go ahead at the Auckland District Court today for a man who accidentally killed a cyclist.
Glenn Becker, 36, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of careless use of a motor vehicle causing death.
Becker was parked on Tamaki Drive when he opened his car
door, forcing cyclist Jane Mary Bishop to swerve into the path of
an oncoming truck. The incident took place in November 2010.
Bishop, a 27-year-old British nurse, was freed by firefighters from the back wheels and efforts were made to revive her, but she died at the scene.
Auckland Council has since put cycle lanes along the notoriously dangerous stretch of road.
Yesterday, the court heard from a man who saw the incident who told his friends she would have an accident moments before she actually did.
Gerald Hutchinson was the first witness to give evidence at the trial of Glenn Becker at the Auckland District Court yesterday.
Hutchinson, testifying via video link from his hometown Melbourne, was on holiday in Auckland on November 17 2010, the day Bishop died.
He said he was driving down Tamaki Drive to the beach with his brother-in-law and a couple of friends at about 6pm that day.
The car Hutchinson was in was waiting in a queue of traffic when he first saw a woman cycle past on his left, he told the court.
"I realised the cyclist was probably going roughly 20kms an hour and was too close to the kerb and the car door as well. I was telling my mate she was going to get run over by a car soon because she was too close and an accident was going to happen. And suddenly, an accident happened."
Hutchinson said the cyclist biked off ahead of his car.
"She had a basket handlebar and she had her headphone on listening to the music, just going with the flow and suddenly that was it. She disappeared.
"She was in front of us when she took off... I saw the door of the 4-wheel-drive was open but I think she tried to swerve, trying to avoid the side door of the car."
The main question before the court is whether Becker's conduct could be considered "careless" in terms of the use of the car, and whether there is a causal link between what Becker did and Bishop's death.
Judge Phil Gittos questioned both defence counsel and Thompson about whether opening a car door could be considered "using" a motor vehicle.
Thompson replied that there are previous cases deciding that it did.
Becker's defence lawyer said he would reserve his position on the issue, but he was unlikely to argue against the legal authorities.
The lawyer said his case was likely to hinge on the fact that in this case Becker's conduct was not careless, because he did not open the door and actually hit Bishop.
