Police motorcyclist who struck woman while escorting duchess cleared of causing death by careless driving

A Metropolitan Police motorcyclist has been found not guilty of causing death by careless driving after hitting a pensioner while escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh.

Christopher Harrison, 68, struck Helen Holland at a pedestrian crossing while he travelled through Earl's Court, west London, on 10 May 2023. The 81-year-old woman suffered serious injuries in the collision on West Cromwell Road and died in hospital two weeks later.

PC Harrison was travelling at between 44mph and 58mph as he approached the crossing, which had a 30mph speed limit, the trial previously heard. On Thursday, the officer was found not guilty at the Old Bailey of causing death by careless driving.

He was acquitted by a jury who had deliberated for more than two hours. After the verdict was returned, someone shouted from the public gallery: "You ruined our family with no consequences." The judge, Mr Justice Martin Chamberlain, then said PC Harrison was free to leave.

The defendant, who had 21 years of experience in the specialist escort group, said he "couldn't put it into numbers" how many times he had undertaken the trip and that he was "very familiar" with the route. Ms Holland was 2.9 metres on to the crossing when PC Harrison's motorbike struck her, the court heard.

She suffered a skull fracture, bruising to her arms, legs and body, as well as sustaining fractures to her lower legs. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as complications from a severe head injury.

PC Harrison, who became emotional while giving evidence during the trial, told jurors the crash was a "tragic accident" which happened in circumstances that he had "no control over". Under cross-examination, he accepted he forgot to switch on his body-worn camera and did not use his whistle as he approached the pedestrian crossing, but insisted he had not been complacent on the day.

"She was just there in front of me," he told jurors. "She just appeared, between the kerb line and the point of collision.

"At no point did I see her on the island, I'm sorry.".