Witness heard 'almighty bang' following serious A35 crash, court hears

Victor Samways’ red Ford Fiesta was in a collision with Fahd Baakza’s silver Nissan Micra on the A35 at Eype near Bridport at around 7.50pm on January 23, 2019.

Baakza was turning off the A35 into the rest area when his car collided with Mr Samways' oncoming vehicle.

Mr Samways, 74, attempted to exit his severely damaged vehicle but was struck again by a Volkswagen Transporter van shortly afterwards and died at the scene.

Baakza, aged 34, and of Dorset Street, London, denies a charge of causing death by careless driving in a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.

The A35 was closed for several hours following a multi-vehicle crash which killed Victor Samways. A two-day trial into a driver's role in the crash is underway at Bournemouth Crown Court. Picture: Bridport News

A witness, who was travelling towards the Bridport Rest Area in an Audi Q3, recalled she was aware of Baakza’s Nissan Micra behind her as she turned into a filter lane.

She recalled: “I just pulled across to the road I was going in and I heard this almighty bang within seconds of me crossing over the A35.

“I didn’t see the collision but it was clear there had been a collision.”

She added: “I was really shocked. It took me by surprise.”

After coming to a stop, she heard a second crash and called the emergency services. She added the conditions were clear and was able to see oncoming traffic.

Nicholas Tucker, defending Baakza, argued that as her vehicle was a SUV, she theoretically would have a better field-of-view in a higher up vehicle.

Footage of the A35 at night broadcast to the court showed there was no street lighting, but illuminated oncoming vehicles could be seen.

Prosecuting, Thomas Evans, said a forensic vehicle examination on the vehicles saw ‘no defects were identified in any of the vehicles which could have contributed to the collision.’

Investigation into headlights as defence cite it as reason why victim was not seen

The A35 near Eype, West Dorset, where Victor Samways died in a crash in January 2019. Picture: Google

A police investigation into defects of the Ford Fiesta's headlight concluded that due to the filament of the headlight bulb being warm, it was likely they were switched on at the point of the collision with Baakza.

Mr Evans also noted that the button positions for the lights were in a position to indicate they were active.

In cross examination, Mr Tucker’s main argument was that Baakza was unable to see Mr Samways' vehicle due to what he claimed were the Fiesta’s headlights being off.

Addressing PC Edge of Dorset Police, he said: “The visibility of a car at night is generally speaking assisted by the fact you have the headlights on against the very dark background.

“Generally speaking, we might say it would be easier to see an oncoming car at night.”

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Mr Tucker asked if the headlights of Mr Samways' vehicle were examined, in which PC Edge replied: “We had no headlights to examine. The headlights were destroyed following the collision.”

Referring to a summarised police interview transcript, Mr Evans read out to the court how Baakza left his apartment at 6pm to travel to McDonald’s but was unable to find it. He instead chose to travel to the Bridport Rest Area to visit a fast food van.

Baazka stated how the Audi in the filter lane 'obstructed' his view and 'could not see the oncoming traffic' and he 'looked for lights and saw none so I turned as well (as the Audi)'.

Baakza noted he checked multiple times before turning into the road and collided with Mr Samways' vehicle.

After departing his vehicle, Baakza approached Mr Samways and saw he was unresponsive. Baakza added he tried to prevent the second collision with the VW Transporter by getting the driver's attention.

The trial continues.