US airwoman ‘didn’t see motorcyclist’ before driving into his path, court told

Airman first class Mikayla Hayes denies causing death by careless driving after the crash in Norfolk that killed Matthew Day on August 26 last year.

Mikayla Hayes leaves Westminster Magistrates’ Court after an earlier court appearance (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Archive)

A US servicewoman who was driving home from work caused the death of a motorcyclist by pulling from a junction and into his path after failing to see him, a court has heard.

Airman first class Mikayla Hayes, 25, was heard by a witness saying “I didn’t see him” after the crash that killed 33-year-old Matthew Day on August 26 last year, Norwich Crown Court heard.

Hayes had been travelling from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk to her home in Downham Market in Norfolk.

Rachel Scott, prosecuting, said witnesses stated that Hayes emerged from the B1160 Lynn Road turning right on to the A10 at Southery in Norfolk, towards Downham Market.

Father-of-one Mr Day, who was travelling south on the A10 on a red and white Yamaha motorbike, collided with the defendant’s maroon-coloured Honda Accord and died of his injuries later that day.

Hayes denies causing death by careless driving.

Ms Scott said the collision happened just before 4pm and driving conditions were good.

She said traffic was “fairly heavy which was normal for that time of afternoon on a Friday”.

The prosecutor said that Hayes pulled into the path of the motorbike as it approached and Mr Day was “thrown into the air and landed in the mouth of the Lynn Road junction”.

She said a witness who was driving in front of Mr Day on the A10 said the motorcyclist was matching her speed, which was “well under 60mph”.

Ms Scott said a second witness, an experienced motorcyclist who was waiting behind Hayes at the junction in Lynn Road, said he “saw her head turning from side to side” as she waited.

The witness said he saw Mr Day’s motorbike approaching and saw Hayes drive forward and collide with Mr Day’s motorbike.

Another witness, who was on his way home from work when he saw the aftermath of the collision and stopped, said Hayes “kept saying ‘I didn’t see him’”, said Ms Scott.

The prosecutor said the witness reported that Hayes “said ‘I stopped, looked both ways, pulled out and didn’t see him’”.

In an interview with police she said she was driving home from work taking her “normal route home”.

“She said she looked both ways and saw a clear passageway both left and right, looked again to make sure it was clear then pulled out,” Ms Scott said.

The defendant reported that she saw Mr Day’s motorbike when she was “at the halfway point of her turn”, Ms Scott said, and he hit her car.

Ms Scott said Hayes said the colour of the motorbike “appeared to blend into the road and sky”.

Both vehicles were examined and no faults were found that would have contributed to the collision.

Hayes was breathalysed and drugs tested and the results were both negative, and there was no evidence she was using her phone, Ms Scott said.

She said tests on Mr Day found a “low concentration of THC”, indicating he had taken cannabis at some point before the collision.

“The evidence doesn’t suggest he failed to react appropriately when Miss Hayes pulled out in front of him,” Ms Scott said.

She said that experts for the defence and prosecution agree that “nothing about the road, the weather or the driving conditions was a factor”.

“They also agree that the main cause of the collision was Miss Hayes pulling out from a side road into the path of a motorbike that had priority,” said Ms Scott.

She said that experts disagree about how many seconds there were between Hayes pulling out and the collision, and how many seconds Mr Day had to react.

“The issue at the heart of this case is whether the defendant’s driving fell below the standard expected of a careful and competent driver,” said Ms Scott.

“The prosecution case is there’s no good reason why Miss Hayes didn’t see Mr Day’s motorbike.”

The trial continues.