THE jury in the trial of a cement truck driver accused of causing the death of cyclist Richard Pollett has retired to consider its verdict.
The jury heard three days of evidence and submissions in the District Court trial in Brisbane, where driver Luke Michael Stevens, 29, has pleaded not guilty to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.
Pollet, 25, was killed after being struck by the cement truck's rear tyres as the driver attempted to overtake him on Moggill Rd at Kenmore at 1.30pm on September 27, 2011.
The jury was told Stevens was driving inbound when he attempted to overtake Mr Pollett in the far left-hand lane of Moggill Rd.
Crown prosecutor Michael Lehane said scratches, gouge marks and "body scuff marks" were found by officers from the Forensic Crash Unit as far back as 25m from the place where Mr Pollett's body came to rest.
The court heard the force of the impact shattered Mr Pollett's bike helmet. It was told his body had to be disentangled from his mangled bike.
He said Mr Pollett was "vulnerable" as a cyclist and any contact with a vehicle would have obviously "significantly imperilled his life".
Mr Lehane told the jury a heavy vehicle could be more difficult and take longer to manoeuvre.
"The accused should have had an appreciation for how vulnerable Mr Pollett was and insight into how unsettling his vehicle could be," he said.
Mr Lehane argued the road conditions, the vulnerability of Mr Pollett and the restricted capabilities of the heavy vehicle he was driving, should have lead Stevens to "put his foot on the brake" as he approached the cyclist.
Barrister Steve Zillman, for Stevens, told the jury his client was going about his lawful business and driving in a responsible way on the day of the accident.
He said Stevens was not driving erratically or speeding and was effectively "boxed in" by other cars as he approached Mr Pollett on his bike.
Mr Zillman said Stevens was under "the honest and reasonable belief" there was enough room on the road to safely overtake him.
He cited the evidence of eye-witness Maxwell Roy Clothier, which contended that Mr Pollett may have come into contact with the cement truck near to the intersection with Blacon St - a straight section of road before the left-hand bend - and therefore "had the option" of turning down it if he felt unsafe.
Mr Zillman said there was no evidence the truck caused Mr Pollett to come off his bike and he could have fallen off as a result of "any number of reasons".
"It's not good enough to say it's a coincidence," he said.
The jury heard Moggill Rd was narrow, winding and the width of the left-hand lane expanded and reduced between 3.1m and 3.6m near to the accident scene, without signage notifying motorists of the change.
In his summing up of the case, Judge Michael Rackemann told the jury it needed to consider two primary issues, including whether the operation of the cement truck was dangerous and whether it was a "substantial and significant" cause of Mr Pollett's death.
He said the jury needed to exclude the possibility Mr Pollett fell from his bike for reasons that didn't involve the truck as a cause.
"The Crown asks you to infer that it was something about the truck being, they would say, too close to the cyclist that has in some way - which they can't pin-point - significantly and substantially resulted in this cyclist falling under the truck," Judge Rackemann said.
He said the Crown contended it would otherwise be a "coincidence" if the cyclist fell at a time when a truck was passing.
"The defence says: 'how can you possibly be satisfied by that?'," Judge Rackemann said.
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