Traumatic details of cyclist Richard Burden’s death revealed in court

WITNESSES have told a court harrowing details of the moment they watched as a Brisbane cyclist was hit by a car and thrown over a guard rail, as the young man charged over his death pleads not guilty.

Richard Burden was allegedly fatally hitting by a car driven by Caleb Alan Wills. Picture: Facebook

A YOUNG driver has denied he was driving dangerously the morning he fatally struck a 50-year-old Brisbane cyclist who was thrown over a guard rail and died from severe head injuries.

Richard Burden was less than 1.5km from home and on his way to meet friends for a morning ride when he was struck by a red Honda Civic being driven by 23-year-old Caleb Alan Wills shortly after 5am on February 17 last year.

Caleb Alan Wills leaves the District Court in Brisbane on Monday. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

Wills pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane District Court on Monday to one charge of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, with his lawyer arguing while he admitted he was driving the car at the time it struck Mr Burden, he was not driving dangerously.

“There is no question the defendant was driving the car involved in that collision,” defence barrister Laura Reece told the jury.

“The question for you ultimately from a defence perspective is whether the defendant’s operation of the motor vehicle at that time in those conditions, whether that driving was dangerous in all the circumstances.

“These are by their very nature very difficult matters, they’re emotional matters, what happened here was obviously utterly tragic.”

Crown prosecutor Catherine Burkett played the jury dash-cam footage of the collision which happened on an uphill stretch of Moggill Rd at Chapel Hill, in Brisbane’s west.

“Ultimately the prosecution says the defendant Caleb Wills drifted onto the left side of the left lane, has not seen the bicycle until it was too late to avoid the collision,” she said.

“He was therefore in the crown’s submission not keeping a lookout or paying proper attention and as such was driving dangerously which caused the death of Richard Burden.”

A Facebook tribute to Richard Burden. Pictures: Supplied

Motorist Steven Muller, who was driving in the right-hand lane, one car behind Wills, said he noticed the cyclist “just before impact”.

“We all drive on the road - if you see someone that’s doing something, driving fast or erratic and your eye is drawn to it, but my eye was not drawn to any other vehicle on the road that morning,” he said.

Mr Muller agreed with the defence propositions that there were traffic lights ahead on that stretch of road as well as red reflectors on the guard rail which flash red in the car headlights.

Tracy Campbell, a school deputy principal, was in the right-hand lane directly across from Wills’ car and said she comforted the “shocked” Wills at the scene.

“I saw a red flash out the corner of my eye, I turned to look at the red flash and there was the red car there as well and I had a thought, ‘Oh, there’s a bike there’,” she said.

“Within a split second the red car hit the bike rider and put on his brakes.

“I saw the bike fling up over the top of the car it split, a wheel went past my car and that’s what I observed.”