Woman accused of causing Abbie Chambers' death takes stand at trial

But driver Emma Fogg said she had checked her mirrors and indicated before beginning the manoeuvre. Motorcyclist Timothy Sandars, is on trial alongside Fogg, also charged with causing the death of Abbie Chambers, 21, by careless driving. Abbie, of Park Road, Heanor, suffered fatal injuries when the motorbike she was a passenger on was involved in an accident on the A610 near Ikea in February. Fogg, 21, of Priory Road, Ilkeston, and Sandars, 20, of Morley Road, Chaddesden, have both denied the charge. The jury were previously told by the prosecution that Fogg had pulled out in front of Kyle Trelfall’s motorbike, which Abbie was passenger on, without checking whether it was safe to do so and without indicating. Mr Trelfall applied his brakes and swerved around the car but was hit by Sandars’ bike which, the prosecution said, was going too fast. Today, Fogg told the jury: “I looked into my rear view mirror, then my door mirror. I turned on my indicator to tell the car in front I was going to the other lane, then started to move over slightly then checked over my shoulder to check my blind spot. I saw a bike in the distance.” She said the front right hand corner of her car would have gone over the white line but after seeing the bike she moved back into her lane “just as courtesy” to let the bike go. Fogg said the bike she saw must have been Sandars’ motorbike which was travelling behind Mr Trelfall’s motorbike. Prosecutor Sarah Knight asked Fogg: “As you started the manoeuvre you made the blind spot check?” “Yes, just to double check behind me,” replied Fogg. Miss Knight said: “Do you not accept that was the wrong way to do it?” “Perhaps yes,” said Fogg. Miss Knight continued: “And that was not paying enough attention and care.” “Yes I probably should have checked my blind spot before I did that manoeuvre,” said Fogg. Asked by Miss Knight if she was sure she had put on her indicator, Fogg said: “I think I did, I would have done.” Concluding her questioning, Miss Knight asked: “Do you agree you didn’t drive with sufficient care and attention that day?” “No,” said Fogg. Sandars told the jury he believed he had been riding at a safe distance behind Mr Trelfall and had not been going too fast. Asked about what had happened, Sandars said: “I saw Kyle, very unusual for a bike, I saw him brake and wobble and sort of swerve. It was sort of all at the same time. It was strange.” A bit later, Sandars said: “As Kyle was losing control a little bit, I decided instead of losing control myself to move around Kyle.” His lawyer, Andrew Nuttall, then asked: “Were you conscious of making that decision?” “Yes,” replied Sandars. “Why did you choose not to brake?” asked Mr Nuttall. “Well, like the motorcycle instructor said it can cause a lot of problems,” replied Sandars. “I didn’t know what was going to happen and didn’t know whether it would work – whether I would lock up and go into the back of Kyle or lock up and come off myself.” The trial continues.