Members of Orwell Wheelers have appeared as witnesses during the trial of a man who is charged with causing the death of cyclist Tonya McEvoy on a club spin four years ago.
Kevin Hutchinson, a 29-year-old with an address at
Robertstown West, Robertstown, Co Kildare, has pleaded not guilty to dangerous
driving causing the death of Ms McEvoy.
The fatal crash, during an Orwell Wheelers group ride,
occurred on February 12th, 2017, at Rathcoffey, Co Kildare.
At a hearing yesterday, Naas Circuit Criminal Court was
told some of the riders on the spin immediately had concerns about the oncoming
car.
One club member, Robert Tully, was on the front of the group and shouted an expletive at the vehicle as he felt the driver had cut the corner on a bend as it approached the group he was in.
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He felt the speed of the vehicle was excessive and that
unless some of the riders had pulled over, he believed he may have been hit.
Monica Freiband, who was also cycling with the group, said the car was going faster than she expected and she experienced some panic while Diarmuid Donnelly said the vehicle passed closely and he felt it was at arm’s length.
The court heard the oncoming vehicle approaching the riders would have had to come into the road somewhat because of cars parked on the roadside as a mass was on in the area at the time.
John Anslow, another cyclist, said he tensed and experienced
some shock as a result of the speed of the car. He feared the car would hit the
vehicles parked on the other side of the road.
Another rider, Evan Hughes, said two thirds of the
oncoming car was on the wrong side of the road and that the vehicle came out of
the bend dangerously fast and not at 20km to 30km per hour, as suggested by the
defence.
The trial before Judge Patrick Quinn was continuing and
is being heard in Drogheda due to pandemic restrictions in Naas court house.
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