Dashcam shows alleged driver overtaking before headteacher’s fatal collision

Prosecutors allege Simon Richardson struck and killed Michael Mullins, a 56-year-old headteacher cycling home from work, then drove on with him trapped beneath his car. Dashcam footage shown to the jury appears to capture Richardson overtaking another vehicle shortly before the collision. Richardson denies murder, manslaughter and dangerous driving; the case is still on trial.

The court heard that Mullins was dragged for about 1.3 miles and was found on a grass verge, where he was pronounced dead around 40 minutes after the collision. An emergency medicine consultant said the evidence suggested Mullins survived the initial impact, but he could not say whether he was conscious while being dragged. The doctor said multiple traumatic injuries and respiratory failure contributed to cardiac arrest; he also said Apple Watch data supported that Mullins was physiologically alive when released from the car, though the defence challenged the data’s accuracy.