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Witness sobs on the stand as he describes accident

:Ashley Redmond is pictured on the left with his lawyer Richard Horseman. Mr Redmond is on trial accused of knocking down a pedestrian while driving his motorbike drunk. (Photo by Glenn Tucker(

A road collision victim sobbed on the Supreme Court witness stand as he described being knocked down on a pedestrian crossing by an allegedly drunk motorcyclist.Sylvan Dill, 47, suffered a double fracture to his right leg and a facial fracture in the collision at the junction of Reid and King Streets in Hamilton around 10pm on May 11, 2010.The motorcyclist, 41-year-old Ashley Redmond from Smith’s, was knocked unconscious in the collision and his bike skidded more than 30 metres along the road.He is now on trial accused of causing grievous bodily harm [GBH] to Mr Dill by being impaired by alcohol and over the legal alcohol limit.In evidence yesterday, Mr Dill said he walked from Front Street up King Street as he was heading to his fiancee’s home in Till’s Hill.He got to the pedestrian crossing on Reid Street at the top of King Street and looked to the right to see if any traffic was coming down the one way street.Mr Dill saw a small car which stopped for him, so he walked onto the pedestrian crossing.“When I got across the car I got in the centre of the pedestrian [crossing]. Something told me ‘look’ and I saw....” explained Mr Dill, who was overcome with emotion at this point and could not continue speaking.After a break to drink some water, he continued: “I looked to the right and the bike was coming so fast I couldn’t even do nothing.He came so fast I couldn’t even tried to avoid him or nothing. He struck me on the right side of my body, I was thrown a distance with the impact from the hit.”Mr Dill landed on the sidewalk outside a law firm which is opposite the VSB broadcasting building. “I tried to get up but my leg just gave way and I just started to feel so much pain,” he explained.Mr Dill said the lighting was very good at the scene of the collision and the traffic very light at the time.Police accident investigator Dave Greenidge compiled a report which was shared with the jury by prosecutor Nicole Smith. He said Mr Redmond’s bike was heading west when it collided with Mr Dill.After the collision it fell on its left side and skidded 9.3 metres along the road and collided with a parked bike before skidding another 22 metres and coming to a rest on the sidewalk on the southern side of the road.Acting Inspector Greenidge said there was insufficient evidence to determine the pre-impact speed of Mr Redmond’s bike.He added that Mr Dill was 4.15 metres from the sidewalk on the northern side of Reid Street when the collision occurred.Mr Dill was taken to hospital in the same ambulance as Mr Redmond who regained consciousness at the scene. Mr Dill told the jury he smelled “strong alcohol” coming from Mr Redmond as they lay near each other in the ambulance.“I didn’t say a word, I was hoping he would at least look at me and say ‘I’m sorry about what happened’ but he didn’t even do that,” he said.The trial also heard from Government analyst Desiree Spriggs who said there was 122 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millitres of blood in a sample taken from Mr Redmond.The legal limit is 80 milligrams. The blood sample was collected by Police doctor Stephen Sherwin around 1.30 am on May 12 while Mr Redmond was in the emergency room.Other witnesses emergency medical technician Quincy Jones, nurse Mariet-Dupore Arthurton and police constable Bernadette Lawrence told the trial they smelled alcohol on Mr Redmond’s breath after the incident.Pc Lawrence said: “I asked him if he had been drinking prior to the collision and he responded ‘yes, I’ve had a few drinks’.”Mr Dill, from Pembroke, spent three days in hospital and had to have a metal rod inserted in his broken leg. It was removed in September to aid the healing process, but he’s still not returned to his job in Somerset as a kitchen porter.He limped heavily as he walked to the witness stand and the jury heard a report from doctor Panagal Chelvam who said he is “making slow progress,” as his fractures are still healing, but he is likely to return to work by May.Mr Redmond declined to give evidence in his own defence after the prosecution case closed. He denies causing GBH by driving impaired and causing GBH by driving with excess alcohol.The jury is expected to consider a verdict in the case today.

Sylvan Dill broke down in tears as he told a jury he was knocked down on a pedestrian crossing by allegedly drunk motorcyclist Ashley Redmond. He suffered serious injuries and Mr Redmond is now on trial at Supreme Court. (Photo Glenn Tucker)