Dangerous driver guilty of killing pensioner and dog as he accelerated through Worsley junction

A dangerous driver has been found guilty of knocking down and killing a pensioner and his dog who standing at a pedestrian crossing.

Abdelkader Dhrif, 70, died from his injuries after the collision on the A580 East Lancashire Road in Worsley, Salford.

Ben Trigger, 30, of Merton Grove, Astley, Wigan, was found guilty of causing his death after two hours of deliberations.

Mr Dhrif, from Boothstown in Salford, was standing at the crossing at the road's junction with his dog at around 3:30pm on 20 November, 2019.

The traffic light crossing signals were on 'red for pedestrians and green for motorists', Manchester Crown Court heard.

Trigger was driving his Ford Ranger 'pick-up' westbound towards Liverpool at the time.

There was evidence that Mr Dhrif was running, 'probably to get to the central reservation' safely, and may have 'misjudged' the speed Trigger was driving at in the 40mph zone.

Trigger's truck was fitted with a computer system so it was 'possible to track the defendant's journey and his speed, with room for error limited to one mph'.

Mr Cadwallader said he was travelling more than 50mph on his approach to crossing.

A driver in a car in front of him told how Trigger flashed him with his headlights as he was about to turn right off the A580, the jury heard.

Mr Cadwallader said it suggested 'impatience on the part of the defendant'. When the witness turned right, Trigger accelerated.

"It was hard acceleration as a few metres prior to the stop lane at the junction he had reached a speed, according to the technology, of 61.6mph," Mr Cadwallader said.

"Taking into account room for error the conclusion is that the defendant's speed was about 60mph.

"The inference is that this is the point that the defendant braked having seen the deceased in the road."

"In any event by that stage it was too late for the defendant and Mr Dhrif to avoid the collision," Mr Cadwallader said.

In police interviews, Trigger said he was driving at 'no more than 40 mph' and told police he would 'never accelerate through a junction, ever'.

The jury was told: "Unfortunately, on the 20 November 2019 the defendant did the opposite. He was not only going fast, he was accelerating. He put his foot down.”

In his defence, Trigger told the court: "All I know is I believed I was doing the speed limit, I was with the flow of traffic. I don’t believe I was doing anything that was dangerous or unsafe."

Jurors found him guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and he will be sentenced on 9 May. He was also handed an interim driving ban.