A JURY has retired to begin determining the fate of Katie Holmes, accused of driving dangerously when she hit and killed Anne Bourke at Heddon Greta in 2020.
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Ms Holmes was allegedly speeding and had traces of methamphetamine in her system when she hit and killed 47-year-old Ms Bourke as she walked across Main Road about 10.50pm on February 15, 2020.
The 29-year-old has pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death and a trial in Newcastle District Court this week has focused on whether Ms Holmes was driving dangerously in the moments before the fatal pedestrian crash.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Lynch told the jury Ms Bourke and her partner Dean Latter where among a group that had taken a mini bus from Heddon Greta to Pokolbin for a concert on the afternoon of the crash.
They returned to the Heddon Greta Hotel about 10.30pm and it was about 20 minutes later when Ms Bourke decided to go home.
She was crossing Main Road near the intersection of Young Street when she was struck by a Mazda sedan driven by Ms Holmes. She died at the scene.
Mr Lynch said CCTV footage from outside the hotel was analysed by crash investigators and other experts in order to calculate the average speed of Ms Holmes' Mazda as it travelled past the hotel.
Mr Lynch said one expert opined the car was travelling at an average of between 80km/h and 90km/h and another expert said it was going about 94km/h.
A blood sample taken from Ms Holmes showed she had traces of methamphetamine and amphetamine in her system but a pharmacologist was unable to say Ms Holmes was under the influence to the extent that her driving would have been impaired, Mr Lynch said. Ms Holmes gave evidence during the trial, saying she believed she was driving within the speed limit, was not affected by methamphetamine and was not driving dangerously.
Ms Holmes also said she thought the Mazda might have had a defective speedometer, Judge Mark Williams said during his summing up.
"[Ms Holmes] said she saw a male pedestrian step into the lane and then step back, but the female pedestrian continued to cross and she was unable to avoid the impact," he said, summarising Ms Holmes' evidence.
[Katie Holmes] said she thought the Mazda might have had a defect with the speedometer.
- Judge Mark Williams told the jury as part of his summing up on Friday.
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