Driver who struck and killed canine strolling couple on icy nation lane hit 87mph seconds earlier than the crash, harmful driving trial hears

A driver who struck and killed a couple as they walked a dog was driving at 87mph on an icy country lane seconds before the crash, a court was told. 

Thomas, 61, and Susan Corkery, 68, were taking their friend’s dog for a walk when Scott Gunn struck them down, killing all three on January 20. 

The driver, 38, reached speeds of 87mph only seconds before hitting the couple on Thurnham Lane, Bearsted, near Maidstone, the court heard. 

Gunn had purchased the BMW X5 seven days before colliding into the couple on the 60mph road.   

He is currently on trial at Maidstone Crown Court, where he denies two offences of causing death by dangerous driving.

The jury was told that the defendant had admitted causing the death of the couple by careless driving, as well as a charge in relation to the dog, Gracie.

Richard Hillman, prosecuting, said Gunn’s driving ‘fell far below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver’, before adding his driving was ‘obviously’ dangerous.

As well as wintry weather conditions, a sign had been erected just over half a mile from the crash warning of icy roads. 

CCTV had also captured other vehicles driving along the lane at between 20 and 22mph.

Meanwhile, data from the airbag control module in Gunn’s car revealed he was travelling at 87mph just five seconds before the crash. 

Another dog walker told police a car had passed him travelling at ‘terrific speed’ and in response he waved his arm in a bid to alert the driver of the ice ahead.

Mr and Mrs Corkery were thrown into the hedge on impact, while the BMW ‘bounced off’ and continued for a short distance up the road before stopping.

The couple, as well as the dog, died on the roadside.  

Following the crash, Gunn got out of his car and asked an eyewitness for a phone, the court was told. 

He was reportedly heard to say words to the effect of he was ‘going too fast’ and either did not ‘know’ there was ice or did not ‘see’ it.

Mr Hillman told the jury the prosecution would seek to prove it was ‘not simply a case of careless driving’.

‘We submit, once you have heard the evidence, you will be sure his driving was dangerous and he was driving dangerously,’ the lawyer explained.

The jury was told it was not known who, why or when the warning sign about ice had been put in place, but Gunn would have driven past it on that ‘cold, winter’s day’.

The defendant lived about an eight-minute drive from the scene, so would have had ‘some familiarity’ with local roads, particularly in the Thurnham lane area, Mr Hillman added.

The road was ‘well-known’ for walkers and horse riders while referring to the BMW’s speed, the court heard.

Shortly before the fatal smash, Mr and Mrs Corkery, with Gracie, had been at the Black Horse Inn where they were advised to be careful about the icy conditions by an adjacent table.

At around 1.40pm, another dog owner, David Scott, overtook the couple on foot as they walked and noticed a patch of ice around 50 yards long before the BMW passed him.

‘He described it as driving at terrific speed, flicking up gravel as it headed towards a slight bend in the road,’ the prosecutor explained.

Mr Hillman added that the walker tried to wave down the driver in a bid to warn him about the patch of ice. 

‘The vehicle passed him, tried to brake and skidded straightaway. The car turned sideways as it tried to make the bend and impacted with the two people on its passenger side, throwing them into the hedge.

‘Mr Scott said the vehicle was out of control and collided within two seconds of passing him.’

Another walker told police the BMW was ‘going the quickest he had ever seen’ a vehicle along that road – and was throwing up grit as it did so.

Within a split second of it passing him, he heard a bang, the jury was told.

A resident was in a field when she too said she had seen a vehicle coming up the road at excessive speed, and that temperatures had been sub-zero all week.

Several emergency vehicles attended the scene which, in a video filmed by police that same day and played in court, could be seen to be covered with slush and ice.

One officer described the ice as being ‘clear to see’ and that when he lowered his speed, he felt no adverse effect on his steering or braking, the court heard.

At the time, when Gunn was asked how fast he had been driving, he said: ‘I don’t know. I was probably over the limit. Not by much.

‘I was slowing down as I came to the bend. I didn’t see the ice until the last second.’

A passenger in the BMW told police he had been looking at his phone at the time and could not be sure of the vehicle’s speed.

Gunn, of Grove Green Road, was interviewed by police a month later and answered ‘no comment’ to the force’s queries. 

He gave a prepared statement in which he expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the victims.

He also described being ‘left in shock’ by the incident, adding it was one from which he would ‘never recover’.

The trial continues.