A LORRY driver accused of not securing a chain which may have fatally sliced through another vehicle has given evidence in Oxford Crown Court.
Christopher Watson took the stand yesterday and told a jury the chains on the back of his flat bed lorry could have been stored “better”.
The 45-year-old is alleged to have caused the death of Michael Stringer, from Buckinghamshire, by driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition on the A415 near Abingdon on July 18 last year.
Ann Evans, prosecuting, said a chain attached to the back of Watson’s lorry could have swung out and “acted like a cheesewire”.
A crash scene investigator gave evidence this week and said some of the chains had been attached to the vehicle in a way which was “inherently dangerous”.
Peter Horgan, defending, asked Watson if the method of fixing the chains to the lorry he used was normal. Watson replied: “I didn’t see anything unusual at the time.”
Mr Horgan asked: “Why not?”
The defendant told him: “Because it is a recognised way of fixing a chain to a vehicle.”
Later the barrister asked him what his thoughts are about how the chains were stored now, after the accident.
Watson said: “It could have been better.”
Watson, of Tudor Drive, Watford, denies the charge.
The trial continues.
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