Fatal crash Pc 'speeding on bike'

Mr Myerscough denies causing death by dangerous driving

An off-duty policeman whose motorbike struck a car in Greater Manchester and killed a pedestrian was speeding, Bolton Crown Court has heard.

Damien Myerscough was riding through Ainsworth on an untaxed bike when he overtook a line of cars and collided with a car turning right in April 2007. He was doing 35-45mph in a 30mph zone when the bike crashed, killing Lyndsay Oldham, a police expert told the court. Mr Myerscough denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Slack chain

The jury was told that as well as Mr Myerscough's bike not being taxed, it was also fitted with illegal exhausts to make the engine sound louder and that the chain was "dangerously slack".

The court heard that Mr Myerscough, who is a constable with Greater Manchester Police, said in the aftermath of the crash that his career was "doomed" because he was a policeman.

One eyewitness told the court that he heard Mr Myerscough say: "I'm doomed. Was it my fault? That's it, that's my career gone - I'm a policeman."

Mrs Oldham had been out with her family for her husband's birthday

The court heard that 43-year-old Mrs Oldham, from Edgeworth Avenue, Ainsworth, had been walking back from a family celebration for her husband's birthday and was with two of her three children when the crash happened.

Her children suffered minor injuries.

Mr Myerscough, who broke his leg in the crash, claims he did not see the car indicate when it turned in front of him.

The court was told that both the car's front tyres were below the legal standard and that there was some suggestion the driver may have been on his mobile phone at the time of the crash.

The trial continues.