Man charged over cyclist road death, drug driving fronts court

A MAN, who was allegedly on methamphetamine before a crash which killed a cyclist on the weekend, has fronted court charged with drug driving

• Man, 57, dies after being struck by car during cycling club event

A MAN who was allegedly on methamphetamine before a crash which killed a cyclist in Alice Springs on Saturday fronted court on Monday after he was charged with drug driving.

Michael Birch, 30, fronted Local Court charged with dangerous driving causing death, supplying a dangerous drug, possessing a trafficable quantity of a dangerous drug and driving while under the influence of drugs.

On Saturday a 57-year-old man died while riding his bicycle during an Alice Springs Cycling Club event when he was hit by a car allegedly driven by a motorist who returned a positive reading to drugs.

The cyclist was hit around 8.20am on Darken Drive, Simpson Gap by a Ford Falcon sedan.

The 30-year-old alleged driver, a resident of Alice Springs, remained at the scene and was taken into custody.

Police located an amount of drugs in close proximity to the crash site.

The drugs were seized and will be forensically tested.

Police will allege the man hid the drugs in the location immediately following the crash.

Major Crash and local detectives obtained multiple witness statements and interviewed the man in custody on Sunday.

Police have called for anyone who may have recorded footage of the cycling event from Alice Springs to Simpsons Gap on Saturday morning.

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“Anyone who recorded footage while riding in the cycling event or has dashcam or other footage, is urged to contact police on 131444 and quote ref 9581096”,” Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner said.

Birch was remanded in custody and will appear via video-link before court on April 29 for a preliminary examination mention.

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