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Expert: Injured pair were dragged 40 feet

Tracey Pitt, 51, from Devonshire, charged with two counts of causing grievous bodily harm by driving while impaired, is shown leaving Supreme Court 3 with her lawyer, Victoria Pearman.

Twins seriously injured in a crash were sitting or standing in the road when they were struck, according to a collision expert.Collision investigator Emerson Carrington told Supreme Court yesterday that Rupert and Rudolph Smith were both dragged more than 40 feet in the early morning collision.Tracey Pitt, 51, has denied multiple charges in connection to the crash, including two counts of causing grievous bodily harm by driving while impaired.Ms Pitt, who was arrested at the scene, told police she had “two red wines” prior to the collision but refused to give a sample of breath.Both brothers told the court they were unable to remember the collision, but the court has heard from witnesses who testified seeing the 36-year-old twins on the ground in the Southbound lane of Woodlands Road shortly before the collision.As the trial continued yesterday, Mr Carrington said he arrived at the scene of the crash at around 3.10am on February 29 last year, by which time the victims had already been taken away.He said the road appeared to be dry and, while visibility was reduced due to the early hour, there was a street light in the area and he could see several hundred yards down the road.He said while there were no brake marks at the scene, there were drag marks in front of and behind the vehicle. Mr Carrington also noted dents in the car’s front bumper and grill, along with scuff marks on the underside of the car.He told the court that when a standing pedestrian is struck by a car, they are typically knocked to the ground, thrown onto the car’s hood or thrown into the air, depending on the speed of the car.However in this case, he said based on the injuries suffered by the victims and the scene of the crash, it appeared the brothers were run over and dragged, indicating neither man was standing when the collision took place.Mr Carrington told the court he came to the conclusion that Rudolph Smith was sitting or stooping, facing west when he was struck, while Randolph Smith was laying in the road.Both men were caught in the vehicle’s undercarriage and dragged 13.26m (42 feet) before the car stopped and reversed off them.“At the end of the drag marks there was a space and then it was what appears to be blood on the road surface,” Mr Carrington said.“Generally if a body is dragged some distance by a vehicle the blood will be found at the end of the drag marks.”He also told the court that because of the lack of brake marks, he could not determine how fast the car was moving when the collision occurred, but noted the lack of brake marks did not mean the vehicle did not brake.The trial is set to continue in Supreme Court today.