The Metropolitan Police motorcyclist who hit a pensioner while escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh through London, has been found not guilty of causing death by careless driving.
Pc Christopher Harrison, 68, was in court today (November 13) at the Old Bailey to hear the jurors verdict following the horror incident
Helen Holland, 81, was tragically killed when the officer’s motorbike hit her at a pedestrian crossing.
She died two weeks after she was hit and sent flying through the air while at a pedestrian crossing on West Cromwell Road in west London on May 10 in 2023.
Pc Harrison, who has pleaded not guilty to causing death by careless driving, was travelling at between 44mph and 58mph as he approached the light, the Old Bailey heard
During the trial, the prosecution argued that Harrison was careless when he drove through a red light and hit Mrs Holland, who suffered serious injuries.
Passer-by Diana Cetara, who saw the collision as she took her dogs to the park, told the court: “She was crossing, a motorbike hit her and then she flew away – to be honest, I was a bit of a mess then.”
The speed limit on the road was 30mph at the time of the collision and has since been changed to 20mph.
Prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC said Harrison, who, as he approached the light, was travelling between 44mph and 58mph, “was allowed to exceed the speed limit but he still had a duty to drive carefully”.
She said: “As a police escort motorbike, the defendant was allowed to do things other drivers can’t do, for example, he could exceed the speed limit, and go through red lights, but he still had a duty to other road users, including pedestrians, to make sure that his driving was careful.”
Harrison was among the team of convoy motorbike outriders that was escorting Sophie as she left the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office in King Charles Street just after 3pm.
The car that the duchess was in and a police backup vehicle were also part of the convoy.
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