Surgeon 'not too tired to drive'

A Royal Navy surgeon has denied he was asleep at the wheel of his car when he was involved in a collision that led to a motorcyclist's death last January.

Richard Hughes, 29, was on the M3 near Fleet in Hampshire when he hit the back of an articulated lorry.

His car was then involved in a fatal crash with a motorbike ridden by 40-year-old Martin Hopper of Basingstoke.

The Surgeon Lieutenant, of Plymbridge Lane, Plymouth, Devon, denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Winchester Crown Court was told the medic was on his way to Heathrow Airport to catch a flight to Spain to see his girlfriend when the crash happened at about 0530 GMT on 4 January. Mr Hopper died at the scene.

I hit the brakes pretty hard as an emergency stop Surgeon Lt Richard Hughes

Earlier Simon Edwards, prosecuting, told the court Mr Hughes had only been able to get five-and-a-quarter hours sleep in the 24 hours before the collision and just under 10 hours in the 48 hours before.

But giving evidence, Canadian-born Mr Hughes told the jury at no time in the journey had he fallen asleep.

"I was not feeling tired, certainly not too tired to drive," he said.

"I was feeling excited because I had a few extra days' holiday."

Mr Hughes told the jury when he moved to overtake the lorry, he thought it moved into the middle lane at the same time and its brake lights were on.

"I hit the brakes pretty hard as an emergency stop," he said.

"The front of the car collided with the back of the truck and the airbags deployed and there was smoke."

'No evasive action'

He told the court he was disorientated, but he put his car's hazard lights on and got out of the car before waving his arms to slow down another approaching lorry.

It was then he saw a single headlight approaching him at speed, he said.

"I waved my arms. It did not appear to me that the headlight was slowing down," he said.

"I stepped into the slow lane. I was aware of a motorcycle going past and hit the rear offside of my car."

The medic said it was more than minute between his collision and Mr Hopper's collision.

He offered to help the motorcyclist but was told he was injured and that a nurse was with him.

Hughes told the jury his previous evening's sleep had been interrupted and he had gone out to his car several times but he was used to functioning on little sleep due to his job at the time as a junior doctor.

He said he went to bed about 1730 GMT, was woken up by his alarm at 0130 GMT and left for Heathrow Airport an hour later.

The prosecution has alleged Mr Hughes took no evasive action and could not describe the lorry properly because he was asleep.

Mr Hughes is now based at the Institute of Naval Medicine in Gosport, Hampshire.

The trial continues.