A man who saw an Auckland cyclist get hit by a truck told his friends she would have an accident moments before she actually did, a court heard today.
Gerald Hutchinson was the first witness to give evidence at the trial of Glenn Becker at the Auckland District Court today.
Becker has pleaded not guilty to a charge of careless use of a motor vehicle causing the death of Jane Mary Bishop.
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He is accused of carelessly opening his car door while parked on the side of the road, causing Bishop to swerve her bike into the path of an oncoming truck.
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."
'She was lying on the ground'
Hutchinson said he did not actually see what had happened to the cyclist or the car door open, as he was "in shock".
"[I was] traumatised because I came over for a holiday after my mum passed away from cancer. Traumatised, you know."
Hutchinson and his friends got out of their car and began directing traffic so no other accidents happened, he told the court.
"When I got out of the car I saw her - she was lying on the ground. Just her laying down, getting squashed you know between the two tyres and the truck."
Crown prosecutor Brent Thompson told the court the time, date and place of Bishop's death, as well as Becker's identity, were not at issue in the case.
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.
Auckland Council has since put in place several safety measures along parts of Tamaki Drive, including cycle lanes.
