Jailed: BMW driver who killed motorcyclist while speeding on wrong side of road

A BMW driver who struck and killed a motorcyclist while speeding on the wrong side of the road has been jailed for three years.

Construction manager Vasile Flore, 29, had just overtaken his friend and was speeding in the opposite lane when he came face-to-face with Stephen Flood’s Honda motorbike.

Mr Flood slammed on the brakes to try to avoid a crash, but came off his bike and slid along the road until his body was struck by the oncoming BMW.

Shocking CCTV footage shown during Flore’s Old Bailey trial showed Mr Flood’s body being flung along the road “like a tennis ball” just seconds after he had slammed on the brakes.

Flore insisted he had been within the 30mph speed limit and in his own lane at the time of the crash, on Shepiston Lane, Hayes on February 20 last year.

However, expert evidence showed the driver had drifted up to 1.2m into the opposite lane and was speeding at between 41-50mph.

He pleaded not guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, but was convicted by a jury after trial. Judge Gerald Gordon sentenced him to three years in prison last week(fri).

“The motorcyclist was on his right hand side on the ground at the point of impact with Mr Flore’s BMW”, prosecutor Philip Stott told the court.

“It appears the reason for that was because of a braking manoeuvre by Mr Flood – at the point of impact Mr Flore’s BMW was inside the oncoming lane by 1.2m.

“The speed limit at that point was 30mph and the minimum speed of Mr Flore’s BMW was somewhere between 41 and 50mph.”

The court heard Flore had overtaken his friend moments before the crash, but was accused of telling him not to mention the manoeuvre to police.

Describing the point of impact, defence counsel David Smith told the court: “As Mr Flood came into contact with the car, he was effectively knocked like a tennis ball back in the direction he had just come from, but his motorbike continued in the forward direction.”

Paramedics and air ambulance crew tried to save Mr Flood following the 5.45am crash, but he was declared dead at the scene.

Flore, of St Martin’s Road, West Drayton, was also banned from driving for four years.