Sheffield death-crash Pc ‘driving at double the speed limit’

Bradford Crown Court heard that Mr Haslett died at the scene from head injuries after being forced on to the bonnet of the car, hitting the windscreen and being thrown “a considerable distance” into the air.

Nicholas Barker, prosecuting, said that one second and 26 metres before the collision, Pc Mills was travelling at 58mph in a 30mph zone.

He was answering a call classed as “priority”, meaning it needed to be responded to within one hour, and was not using his lights or sirens, the court heard.

Mr Barker said Pc Mills did not see Mr Haslett, who was running across the road, until less than a second before the impact.

He began to brake half a second before the collision, the jury heard. Pc Mills, of Owlthorpe Rise, Mosborough, Sheffield, denies one charge of causing death by careless driving.

Mr Barker said police drivers were not always bound by the rules of the road but must “maintain a standard of safety”.

He added: “The prosecution say that, at the time Jamie Haslett was struck by the car driven by Pc Mills, the defendant was driving his car carelessly and this carelessness contributed in some way to the death of Jamie Haslett.”

Pc Mills sat in the dock wearing a grey suit and shirt. He listened to the opening of the case with his hands clasped on his lap.

The trial continues.