Driver in M6 baby death crash trial 'would have found it impossible' to avoid collision
A motorist whose Mercedes ploughed into a broken-down car on the M6 causing the death of a newborn baby would have found it 'impossible' to avoid a collision at the speed he was doing, a court heard.
A witness said he was driving at about 80mph in lane three of the M6, near the Hilton Services in Staffordshire when he became aware of a Mercedes on his tail.
The car, being driven by Thomas Fryer, was so close he could not tell what make or model it was, Manjot Dhendsa told Stafford Crown Court.
When he moved into the centre lane to allow the Mercedes to pass, it accelerated rapidly past him. He had hardly moved back into lane 3 when he saw the Mercedes hit the stationary Seat ahead of him.
The jury heard that the accident happened on the southbound carriageway between junctions 11 at Cannock and 10a at Essington on the afternoon of May 26 last year.
Eleven-day-old Da'wood(CORR) Hewitt, of Milton Road, Cannock, was airlifted to Birmingham Children's Hospital but died the following day. He was one of three children in the Seat but the only one seriously injured.
His mother Alicia Shaw had been struggling to get the Seat into fifth gear after switching to the third lane on the motorway. She had tried the other gears without success until the car came to a halt. Other drivers became aware and were able to go into the inner lanes avoiding the obstruction, the court heard.
However, Fryer, 31, of Duncroft Road, Garretts Green, Birmingham, was not.
Mr Dhendsa said the crash occurred 'in the blink of an eye' after Fryer had passed him. Asked under cross-examination whether it would have been 'almost impossible' for Fryer to have stopped in time, he replied 'definitely impossible'.
His wife Kirinjit Dhendsa, who was a front-seat passenger, said she had been looking at her phone when she became aware of the car behind them.
"My husband said 'What is this guy doing?' and I looked in the passenger-side mirror. The car was really, really close."
She said her husband did not have to brake to move into the centre lane to let the Mercedes pass because there was no traffic in it.
Their car managed to avoid the crash site, although ot hit some of the debris. Mrs Dhendsa rang 999 to alert the emergency services before going to join other motorists who had stopped and were trying to help at the scene, the court heard.
Fryer denies causing death by dangerous driving. The trial continues.
