A driver travelling at more than twice the speed limit killed her two passengers as they “twerked” in the back without seat belts on, a court has heard.
Rida Boutjettif and Mary Macharia, both in their early 20s, were in the back of Adele Okojie Aidonojie’s convertible Mini Cooper, with the roof down, when it crashed in Battersea at 3.24am on July 16 2022.
Speed analysis conducted by a forensic collision investigator found Ms Aidonojie was travelling at about 62mph on Latchmere Road, which has a 30mph speed limit.
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Jurors heard Ms Aidonojie had been drinking, but passed a breathalyser test two hours after the crash.
Ms Aidonojie allegedly told witnesses not to call the police or an ambulance, and asked about whether there were cameras on the street, the Old Bailey heard.
Victims not wearing seat belts
Sally Mertens, prosecuting, said: “The defendant was driving a convertible Mini Cooper. The roof was down at the time of the collision.
“Two rear seat passengers had been thrown from the Mini. They had not been wearing seat belts and both suffered catastrophic head injuries and were killed.
“Ben Sidibe was the front seat passenger and was also taken to hospital with a fractured upper arm.
“They had all been drinking. A forensic collision investigator has done a speed analysis, he concluded that the vehicle was travelling at approximately 62 miles per hour. This is more than double the maximum speed for that part of Latchmere Road.”
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The prosecutor also referred to Mr Sidibe’s statement to police made hours after the incident.
“He remembers the defendant telling their friends to put their seat belts on, but they just ignored her, and the conversation turned to drinking. Mr Sidibe told police that: ‘Rida and Mary were twerking in the back of the car’.”
Jurors heard that Ms Aidonoje passed a breath test at 5:33am, nearly two hours after the crash.
She denies two counts of death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
The trial continues.
* Original Article:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/25/car-crash-battersea-drink-death-injury-dangerous-driving/