The man accused of murdering Stretford Grammar headteacher Michael Mullins knowingly dragged the educator under his car for more than a mile after hitting him as he cycled home, a trial has been told.
Simon Richardson hit Mr Mullins in his Volvo in Altrincham in April, a court heard. The 56-year-old head was making his way home to Northwich, Cheshire, after work when he was struck at the junction of Dunham Road and Warburton Lane, a jury was told.
He was dragged under the wheels of the car for 1.3 miles - 2.2km - before dying at the roadside on Wet Gate Lane in Lymm, a court was told.
Alleged failure to observe junction
Mr Richardson, 35, earlier failed to properly observe a junction, 'flying straight through the give way markers', before hitting Mr Mullins, the court heard.
The defendant didn't stop and 'put his foot down', prosecutors alleged as a murder trial began on Tuesday (October 13). Mr Mullins was trapped under the car, the court heard, while his damaged bike was left in the road.
Mr Richardson fled, jurors were told, dragging Mr Mullins along the road. The Crown says Mr Richardson later stopped, got out of the car and made 'concerted physical efforts' to try and pull Mr Mullins out from underneath the vehicle.
He then got back behind the wheel and turned sharply in a bid to 'remove' Mr Mullins, the court heard, before he got back out and again, unsuccessfully, tried to free him.
Mr Richardson, the trial heard, then carried on driving, veering 'sharply and deliberately' from side to side and mounting a grass verge. Jurors were told witnesses followed a trail of blood in the road before finding Mr Mullins fatally injured. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Prosecution case
Mr Richardson, prosecutors say, knew Mr Mullins was beneath his car 'trapped and injured, but alive' and that he knew his actions would either kill him or cause him the 'gravest of injuries', yet continued to drive.
The defendant, of no fixed address - but formerly of Epsom Avenue, Sale - denies murder; an alternate offence of manslaughter; and dangerous driving. He is on trial at Minshull Street Crown Court.
As the case opened, jurors were told the incident happened on April 20 this year. Mr Mullins finished work at around 5.30pm, leaving at 5.35pm. He was described as a 'plainly fit man', regularly cycling to the school in Stretford from his home in Northwich.
The court heard his journey took him out of Stretford, through Urmston and Flixton, across the River Mersey into Carrington, through Partington towards the village of Lymm and over the border into Cheshire. That route that was regularly recorded on his Apple Watch, jurors heard.
By 6.07pm he had reached Warburton Lane and was cycling south, it was said. Mr Richardson - driving a black Volvo XC90 - was nearing the end of Dunham Road, where he was required to give way to traffic on Warburton Lane, the court heard said.
"And that, of course, includes Mr Mullins, who at that moment is cycling across the front of him, in plain view," prosecutor Phil Barnes KC said.
He told jurors: "What happened next was captured by a CCTV camera, but the view was obscured by trees. What you are about to hear – but not see – is the defendant completely fail to observe that junction, flying straight through the give way markers, and collide into the left-hand side of Michael Mullins on his bike."
Alleged flight and events after
Other motorists who witnessed the crash stopped and called 999, the court heard. Mr Richardson, jurors were told, didn't stop. "Simon Richardson did not stop to see if the man he had just ploughed into was okay," Mr Barnes added.
"Simon Richardson, knowing he was to blame for what had happened, turned his head, put his foot down and – at times travelling at double the speed limit or more – he fled the scene."
Jurors heard Mr Mullins' damaged bike was left in the road on Paddock Lane, which follows on from Warburton Lane. Mr Mullins was 'nowhere to be found', the prosecutor said.
"Why?," Mr Barnes continued. "Because he was trapped beneath Simon Richardson's car... his foot entangled in the suspension and steering architecture of the front-left hand wheel."
"And as Simon Richardson fled the scene of a collision which was entirely his fault, he was dragging the stricken Michael Mullins along the ground, right beneath his feet."
The court heard that after the collision, Mr Richardson was captured by an ANPR camera driving 60mph in a 30mph zone, with visible damage to the Volvo. The driver's side window was all the way down, it was said.
In CCTV footage from outside restaurant La Boheme, Mr Mullins could be seen, with his foot caught in the front left wheel assembly of the Volvo, being 'dragged to his death', the court heard.
The court heard blood was left in the road as Mr Mullins was dragged along. "It would have taken no more than a glance in the rear-view mirror for the defendant to see that ghoulish line being drawn on the road behind him," Mr Barnes added.
The court heard Mr Richardon turned onto Wet Gate Lane - with the trail of blood leaving an 'arc shape' - before stopping. Prosecutors said the car stopped for around 90 seconds.
It is alleged Mr Richardson went to the left-hand side of the car and made 'concerted physical efforts' to try and pull Mr Mullins out from underneath.
Jurors were told he then went back to the driver' seat and turned the wheel hard to the right in an effort to remove Mr Mullins from the steering assembly, before going back around to attempt to free the headteacher.
The court heard he got back into the car and drove on, approaching Wet Gate Lane Farm. Prosecutors said footage showed the defendant 'veered sharply and deliberately' from side to side - then mounted a grass verge - in an attempt to cut Mr Mullins loose.
"What he did in those moments, we suggest, may speak volumes about what he knew he had done," Mr Barnes said.
The court heard those who witnessed the collision followed the trail of blood before finding Mr Mullins lying on the grass verge. Emergency services attended, but sadly he was pronounced dead at 6.50pm.
A post mortem concluded Mr Mullins died from multiple injuries. The court heard he had sustained a head injury during the collision, but it was not sufficient to cause his death.
"No, Mr Mullins died not from the initial collision, but from the time he spent being dragged under this defendant's car, when this defendant knew he was there, and then ejected and crushed by its wheels," Mr Barnes said.
Jurors heard Mr Richardson then drove to Lymm before filling up his car at a petrol station. His passenger - cousin Gabrielle Debotte - could be seen with her head in her hands, it was said.
They then went to collect weight loss medication from a clinic in the village before returning to Ms Debotte's home in Altrincham, the court heard.
Jurors were told Mr Richardson arranged to swap his Volvo with a friend before attempting to concoct a 'false alibi'. The next day Ms Debotte broke down and told work colleagues what had happened, the court heard.
She was taken to a police station where she was initially arrested, it was said. She has not been charged with an offence, jurors heard.
Mr Richardson was spotted the same day in a Ford Transit van in Failsworth, Oldham, and drove away from officers during a short pursuit in which he was said to have driven dangerously, the court heard. He was arrested and interviewed, and provided no comment, it was said.
Mr Richardson, of no fixed address - but formerly of Epsom Avenue in Sale - denies murder; an alternate charge of manslaughter; and dangerous driving.
The trial continues.
