A LORRY driver twice drove on the wrong side of the road before he collided with a motorcyclist, leaving him for dead, a court has heard.

On June 29, 2019, Lucian-Sorin Todor was travelling along the A32 at Warnford when he crossed double white lines to overtake a cyclist.

The manoeuvre caused three motorists to break, including Jack Burgess, 22, who was riding a Yamaha motorcycle. Mr Burgess braked, came off his motorbike and collided with the wheels of Todor’s trailer.

Todor is currently on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of causing death by dangerous driving. He has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of causing death by careless driving.

Today (Friday) the jury were shown dashcam footage from Todor’s lorry of the 52-year-old overtaking another cyclist along the same stretch of road – just over two hours before the collision which left Mr Burgess, of Hillside Close, Waterlooville, with fatal head injuries.

Agency driver Todor had driven from Fowler Welch’s depot in Hilsea to Alresford Salads, and the first overtake took place towards Warnford in the Droxford direction at 4.27pm.

Giving evidence, officer in the case PC Simon Bradbury said: “The dashcam will see roughly the middle of the lane which he is in at the moment and the driver’s view would be slightly over to the right, the driver’s view would be more restricted as the bend comes up than you would see on the dashcam.”

Hampshire Chronicle: The A32 where Todor overtook a cyclist hours before the crashThe A32 where Todor overtook a cyclist hours before the crash

A car was seen about to emerge at an exit opposite the Church of Our Lady, Warnford. PC Bradbury was asked about what impact Todor’s action could have had if a vehicle was waiting to exit from the church.

Giving an idea of what the view would be, he said: “As the car approaches that particular driveway to the church then they would, if they were looking to the left and if the driver is in the correct lane, they would be more inclined to see it than if it was in the wrong lane.”

At around 6.40pm Todor was returning to the company’s depot when he crossed onto the wrong side of the road again to takeover another cyclist, causing the fatal collision.

The court was told earlier this week that Todor, of Andrew Crescent, Waterlooville, stopped before driving off and later told police he didn't think he had anything to do with his death.

Todor’s barrister Mark Ashley during cross-examination said that “driver’s make mistakes from time to time”, to which PC Bradbury replied: “There is a difference between a mistake and a deliberate act”.

He continued: “Within the dashcam footage there is driving by Mr Todor which is general driving and there is driving within that footage which I would say is not good driving.”

The trial continues.