Driver accused of fatally crashing into biker told police he drank vodka because he was in ‘shock’

A driver accused of crashing into and killing a man before running to buy vodka told police he did so because he was in ‘shock’.

Daniel Masiulis, 38, who was behind the wheel of a BMW 520d, is charged with causing the death of 38-year-old bike rider Clive Pinnock by careless driving whilst over the drink-drive limit following the crash on Hyde Road in Gorton. He denies the charges and is standing trial at Bolton Crown Court.

The court previously heard how Mr Masiulis was driving along the A57 in the direction of Manchester city centre at around 5.15pm on April 8, 2020, when he attempted to turn into a car park access road to the car park of the Tesco Extra store.

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Mr Pinnock was travelling in the opposite direction on a green and blue Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R bike and as Mr Masiulis turned, Mr Pinnock hit the vehicle at 'high speed' and was thrown into the air off his bike, the prosecution allege.

He suffered traumatic brain injuries and a broken neck and pelvis. He was taken to hospital but despite surgery, he did not recover and was pronounced dead at 9:20pm that evening, jurors heard.

Mr Masiulis initially got out of his car and went to Mr Pinnock, however, CCTV then showed him jogging away from the scene, it is alleged.

He then went to a shop in nearby Abbey Hey and bought some vodka and Coca-Cola before ringing police at 5:30pm from Compstall Grove, the court heard.

A blood test showed he had 129mg of alcohol, in 100ml of blood, the legal limit being 80. However, Mr Masiulis claims he drank 31cl of vodka after the collision and before the test, the court has been told.

On the fourth day of the trial (Thursday, July 20) the jury were read a