Cyclist ‘on danger bike blamed victim after killed 20mph crash’
PA Charlie Alliston arriving at the Old Bailey today and Kim Briggs
Charlie Alliston, then 18, wrote online “It’s not my fault people think they are invincible” after ploughing into business executive Kim Briggs at 20mph in a London street. Mrs Briggs, 44, who was on her lunch break, suffered catastrophic head injuries. She had just started work as the leader of human resources at genealogy website Find My Past and died six days later in hospital. The jury heard Alliston, now 20, shouted at the victim after their heads hit together and his cycle flew into the air. And he wrote about the incident online: “We collided pretty hard, our heads hit together, hers went into the floor and ricocheted into mine.
PA Charlie Alliston attended court today
We collided pretty hard, our heads hit together, hers went into the floor and ricocheted into mine Charlie Alliston
“It is a pretty serious incident so I won’t bother saying ‘Oh she deserved it, it’s her fault’. “Yes it was her fault, but no she did not deserve it. Hopefully it is a lesson to be learned on her behalf. “I refuse to accept any responsibility in this whatsoever. It’s not my fault people think they are invincible or just have zero respect for cyclists. “What makes it worse is that, even when people were helping her, her phone was going off continuously with texts showing she was on it at the time. “If you value your phone more than your life maybe this is the type of wake-up call you need.”
PA Mum Kim Briggs suffered fatal head injuries after she was hit by the racing bike with no front brake
The accident happened in February last year as Alliston rode his £470 Planet X competition track bike through busy Old Street, in central London. Afterwards, Mrs Briggs’s husband Matthew paid tribute to her as a “wonderful and much-loved woman”. He said: “My priority has always been to concentrate on supporting my children through this unbelievable heartbreak.” Duncan Penny QC, prosecuting, told the court: “The bicycle was not equipped with a front brake and its design does not allow for the installation of a front brake. This was a bicycle designed to be ridden on a track. “Without a front brake the bike could not be lawfully ridden in a public road.
PA She had just started work as the leader of human resources at genealogy website Find My Past
“Track bikes without a front brake are harder to bring to a halt than bicycles equipped with brakes. “That is why you see Chris Hoy and Laura Trott still whizzing around the track long after the finish. “It is one of the kind of bicycles you see being ridden around the velodrome in the Olympics and other events.” Jurors were shown CCTV footage of the horrific accident as Alliston’s trial got underway. Mr Penny said an investigation concluded he could have stopped in time if he had a front brake.
PA Alliston was riding an Olympic racing bike with no front brake