Motorist who killed cyclist on dark West Yorkshire road said he was 'too scared' to stop

Greg Marsh denies causing death by dangerous driving after his Ford Fiesta smashed into Shaun Parkin-Coates on the A638 at South Elmsall, Wakefield, in the early hours of December 21, 2019.

Standing trial at Leeds Crown Court this week, he has also been charged with the alternative offences of causing death by careless driving while unfit through drink or drugs, and causing death by careless driving.

The Fiesta ploughed into Mr Parkin-Coates, despite him using lights and wearing high-vis clothing. Marsh, who was returning from a friend’s house, drove on for another five miles with a badly-damaged car and smashed windscreen caused by the impact. He maintains he never saw the cyclist.

Giving evidence in court, 24-year-old Marsh was cross examined by prosecutor Michael Smith and asked to explain the collision.

Mr Marsh said: “I heard a bang and looked around me and checked my mirrors but I couldn’t see anything. It was a split second.”

Asked why he didn’t stop to look at the damage caused, he replied: “It shocked me and I was quite scared to be honest. A person of my age, out at that time on a pitch-black road, it could have been anything.”

Asked why he did not see Mr Parkin-Coates, Marsh replied: “I don’t know.”

He was later arrested at home where police found him in bed.

The trial previously heard that Marsh, of Bracken Hill, Ackworth, failed a drink-drive test at the station, three hours after the collision. He blew 43 mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath. The legal driving limit is 35 mcgs.

Marsh maintains he had half a bottle of the alcopop, Smirnoff Ice, then a small can of cider later on. An expert claimed that if they were the only drinks he had consumed, his reading should have been close to zero when he was breathalysed.

The court also heard that Marsh had traces of cocaine and cannabis in his system. The trial continues.