Five deaths 'caused by car with worn tyres'

A MOTORIST driving at 70mph on worn tyres in torrential rain caused the deaths of five people in a pile-up on the M25, a court was told yesterday.

Adrian Ryder lost control when the tyres lost their grip in a river of water, Christopher Ball, for the prosecution, said.

He told Chelmsford Crown Court that Mr Ryder, aged 25, crashed after overtaking a lorry and a car in teeming rain on 27 September last year.

Surface water was running like a river in the offside lane of the motorway near Brentwood, Essex, and Mr Ryder's Ford Sierra 'began to aquaplane', Mr Ball said.

'He was plainly losing control. The car was thrown into the middle lane. He was seen fighting to control the wheel.'

The car struck the front off-side wheel of a lorry, whose driver braked and lost control of his own vehicle.

It began to jack-knife and crashed through the central reservation, blocking all three lanes of the opposite carriageway in the path of rush-hour traffic.

Three vehicles hit the lorry, killing five motorists - Peter Greenwood, 40, and his brother Dennis, 42, of Little Tweed, Chelmsford; Martin Argent, 36, of Spencer Close, Maldon; Danny Miller, 60, of The Leas, Burnham on Crouch, and his son Ian, 34, of Imperial Avenue, Mayland, all in Essex.

When Mr Ryder's car was examined it was found that both rear tyres were worn to below the legal limit. He told police the car had passed an MoT test two months before the crash but he knew the tread was low on the back, Mr Ball said.

Mr Ryder, of Ringhills Road, Bilbrook, near Wolverhampton, denies a specimen charge of causing death by reckless driving.

Mr Ball said the prosecution claims he drove too fast for the conditions and in a way that caused an obvious and serious risk to other road users.

The trial continues today.