Motorbike rider hit speeds 20 mph over limit before hitting Leeds pedestrian, court hears

A motorbike rider was seen hitting speeds 20 mph over the limit moments before striking a pedestrian in Leeds, a court heard.

Reece Manley was riding his Kawasaki motorcycle along the A6110 Beeston Ring Road towards Wortley when he struck and killed 75-year-old Alan Lloyd, a jury at Leeds Crown Court was told.

The 26-year-old denies causing death by dangerous driving, but has pleaded guilty to driving without a license and insurance.

Opening the Crown’s case, lead prosecutor Christopher Rose told the jury how the defendant’s manner of driving in the lead up to the collision on March 26 2022 “fell far below the standard expected”.

Manley, who was not insured to ride a bike with the power of the Kawasaki, was estimated from CCTV footage to have hit speeds of between 65-74 mph in the 40 zone, just two miles before the collision which caused the death of Mr Lloyd.

The jury heard how Mr Lloyd, 75, had three pints at a Wetherspoons pub in Bingley with a friend before making his way home to East Ardsley, when the collision took place.

West Yorkshire Police quickly attended and provided CPR at the scene but he was pronounced dead at Leeds General Infirmary.

The impact of the crash caused the bike to slide for 81 metres along the road and experts calculated that it hit the road surface at a speed of between 49-60 mph, Mr Rose told the jury.

Mr Roberts, who witnessed the lead up and immediate aftermath of the incident, described the motorcycle as cutting in front of his vehicle at traffic lights, before it “shot off” at speed. He caught up with the bike at the next set of lights before the same thing happened.

“He was going very fast and I lost sight of him,” he told the jury.

Approaching the incident, Mr Roberts, whose wife called 999, said he saw a “body in the middle of the road” which he initially thought was the motorcyclist but then saw the defendant, “limping” back towards the scene.

Defence counsel Anastasis Tasou, challenged his version of events and questioned Mr Roberts on whether he was tired having just completed a journey back from Fulham.

Manley, of Welford Road, Filey in North Yorkshire, told officers at the scene that Mr Lloyd “came out of nowhere, I just didn’t see him.”

He later gave multiple ‘no comment’ police interviews, the court was told.

The trial continues and is expected to conclude on Friday.