Police officer 'drove straight into' pensioner who died after royal escort crash

A police motorcycle outrider drove "straight into" an 81-year-old woman in May 2023 when he was part of the royal escort team for the Duchess of Edinburgh, a court has heard. Christopher Harrison, 67, was in a team of four motorbike outriders escorting the Duchess and her convoy away from an event at the Foreign Office when his motorbike hit Helen Holland, who died from her injuries.

The incident happened as Ms Holland, from Essex, crossed the West Cromwell Road on May 10, 2023. Mr Harrison, whose job as an outrider was to keep the royal convoy moving, has always denied causing death by dangerous driving.

The court heard how in an interview after the crash, Mr Harrison said "she (Ms Holland) appeared from nowhere".

In court today, the prosecution told the Old Bailey that Mr Harrison "should have seen her, should have expected there to be pedestrians".

The BBC reports that the prosecution also said in court that Mr Harrison "drove straight into her" while she was crossing the road "as she was entitled to do".

Michelle Heeley KC told the court that Mr Harrison was driving carelessly at the time of the incident when the convoy was crossing traffic lights after they turned from green to red for traffic.

It was heard that Ms Holland was 3m into the crossing when Mr Harrison's bike hit her.

Ms Heeley said that Mr Harrison "should have taken care when driving through" the red lights, telling the court that he "did not stop and he did not see Mrs Holland, which is why he drove straight into her."

Ms Heely told the court: "He should have expected there to be pedestrians, and thus modified his driving somehow, but he didn't, and that is why the prosecution say he was driving carelessly at that point."

While Mr Harrison, as an outrider of a royal convoy, was allowed to exceed the speed limit and go through red lights ,Ms Heely told the court that he still "had a duty to drive carefully".

The journey, which was recorded by the officers who wore video cameras, showed that Mr Harrison was travelling at speeds between 44 and 54mph on the road, which had a 30mph speed limit. Ms Heeley said that outriders should look out for danger and hazards, which includes pedestrians crossing at red lights, and should "control the crossing", which can be done by putting one of the motorbikes across the crossing and telling pedestrians to wait until the convoy has cleared.

The BBC reports that the motorcyclists had whistles and blue lights to help alert the public.

The case continues, and is expected to last for around a week.