A WOMAN accused of killing a cyclist while she was involved in a road-rage incident broke down in tears while giving evidence during her trial as she described seeing his face ‘every day’.
Paige Robinson killed father-of-two Graham Pattison when she smashed into the rear of him while she was involved in an on-going dispute with the driver of an Audi, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The 24-year-old sobbed as she told jurors that she didn’t see the cyclist before he smashed into the windscreen of her white Ford Fiesta when she was travelling at around 70mph.
Robinson blamed the other driver, David Ferry, for causing the fatal collision when he ‘swerved’ towards her car on the A689 driving towards Hartlepool on July 24, 2020.
Read more: Woman in 'road-rage' incident denies causing death of dad-of-two on A689 smash
The pair are both on trial accused of causing the death of Mr Pattison after allegedly using the road as their own ‘racetrack’.
Giving evidence, she said Ferry had pipped his horn at her when she changed lanes to avoid a lorry crossing her path but denied that she was angered by his actions.
The former care assistant said Ferry was racing away from her before putting his brakes on in the moments leading up to the fatal collision when she says she was forced to swerve out of the way of his Audi as he cut across her.
Under cross examination from Nick Dry, prosecuting, the defendant repeatedly broke down in tears as she was taken through the events leading up to Mr Pattison’s death.
Mr Dry accused Robinson of being so distracted by her ‘silly’ feud with Ferry that she wasn’t focussing on the road ahead.
She told the court: "I see that man’s face every day. It was the most traumatic thing I have seen. I don’t want to remember that."
The jury heard how Mr Pattison suffered catastrophic injuries including fractures to his spine.
During cross examination by Ferry’s counsel, Martin Sharpe, asked Robinson if she was ‘lying to save her own skin’ when she described the Audi driver’s behaviour.
Robinson denied the claim, simply replying: ‘No.”
Michael Woodhouse, a police collision investigator, had earlier told the jury that both defendants should have been able to see the cyclist as he rode along the dual carriageway.
Robinson, of Geranium Close in Billingham and Ferry, 47, of Granville Terrace in Redcar, both deny the charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
The trial continues.
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