Fatal accident Pc denies 'gamble'

Mr Myerscough denies causing death by dangerous driving

A police officer whose motorbike crash left a pedestrian dead denied "taking a gamble" when he tried to overtake three cars, a court heard.

Pc Damien Myerscough, 42, who was off-duty, drove into a car travelling in the same direction which pulled out to turn right, a jury heard.

The officer came off his bike but it hit Lyndsay Oldham, 43, in Ainsworth in Bury, Greater Manchester, killing her.

Mr Myerscough denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Mrs Oldham was walking home when the crash happened in April last year.

Andrew Nuttal, prosecuting at Bolton Crown Court, suggested Mr Myerscough "simply took a gamble" when he decided to overtake three cars in the same manoeuvre.

"No I don't think so," replied Mr Myerscough, from Ainsworth.

Mr Nuttal then asked: "Did you think 'I've got a fast bike, I should be able to get past these cars quickly'. Is that the situation?"

Lyndsay Oldham was walking home when she was hit by the bike

Myerscough said: "I had a clear view. I didn't take a gamble."

Mr Nuttal told the court Mr Myerscough admitted responsibility to a member of the public shortly after the crash.

He said: "By saying 'I'm doomed, that's my career gone', you were admitting straight away that you were at fault."

Mr Myerscough replied: "Not at all. I don't recall saying it."

The officer with Greater Manchester Police's Tactical Aid Unit said he was going at about 33mph when the crash happened.

"If my speed changed or increased, it would only have done very slightly," he said.

The jury heard the defendant's 998cc Yamaha motorbike had no road tax and was fitted with a noise-amplification exhaust that had "not for road use" written on it.

The trial continues.