A MAN accused of killing a Good Samaritan who had stopped to help the driver of an overturned car has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Richard Wills, of Barry Avenue, Bicester, had always denied the one count of causing death by careless driving after he reversed into a man at the A4260 at Middle Aston on December 30, 2015.

Speaking from the witness box at his trial at Oxford Crown Court yesterday, the 58-year old told jurors he didn’t see Geoff Smith, 59, in his mirror.

Mr Smith was killed in the incident after parking nearby and walking down the road to help.

Married father-of-two Willsa told the court: “I checked in my mirrors and I had not seen Mr Smith on the grass verge, I checked my mirrors and could see nothing.

"At the end of the day there was a lot going on in our minds with the overturned car, not knowing if anyone was in there, and it being a 70mph road. We just wanted to make sure everybody was safe.

“It was just a spur of the moment decision, we wanted to try and make it as safe as possible, making everyone safe.”

Wills and a passenger got out of the vehicle after striking Mr Smith and Wills tried to comfort him before he was taken to hospital, where he later died.

He was cleared by a unanimous jury as his two-day trial at Oxford Crown Court came to an end this afternoon.