A motorist died after a speeding police car ploughed into his car on the wrong side of a road on a blind bend, a court heard.Detective Constable Ashley Brice, pictured, reached speeds of up to 89mph while overtaking a lorry and three cars in an unmarked police car - before crashing and killing another motorist, Caernarfon Crown Court was told.
Brice, of Kerry, Newtown, denies causing the death of Gareth James by dangerous driving.
Mr James, 43, from Llandegley, Llandrindod Wales, was driving a Vauxhall Astra which was in collision with a Ford Mondeo driven by Brice on the A483 Newtown to Llandrindod Wells road, at Dolfor, six miles outside Newtown.
Yesterday, Mr Geraint Waters, prosecuting, said Brice’s car was the last in a convoy of four following a lorry towards Llandrindod Wells. He said the cars began to overtake the lorry one-by-one on a straight stretch of the road which has a 60mph speed limit.
As he overtook the lorry, Brice sped up to about 89mph in his Ford Mondeo and continued overtaking the three other cars.
Andrew Asprey, the driver of the leading car, said he only saw Brice’s Mondeo when it was alongside him.
“I looked in front and could see the bend and I knew, at the speed we were driving, one of us wasn’t going to make that bend,” he said.
“I braked instinctively to let him get in. He swerved and hit the grass, bounced back off and into the car coming around the bend.”
Skid marks showed Brice’s car was still on the wrong side of the road 10 metres into the bend and had reached speeds of between 82 and 89 miles an hour.
Mr Waters said: “Overtaking a convoy of four vehicles at speeds of between 80 and 90mph on a bend - the only way to avoid a collision is pure luck.”
The court heard Brice was not in pursuit of anybody at the time. Mr Walters said that when interviewed, Brice said he did not know what speed he was travelling at but believed mechanical failure had been responsible for the accident.
The trial continues.
By Sue Austin
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