A teenage cyclist was killed when she was hit by a motorist racing his girlfriend at speed, a court heard today.
Amy Hofmeister, 13, died when she and her friend were both struck by a Vauxhall Vectra driven by Leonard Jones, 42.
Jones - who eyewitnesses described as driving at 80mph - was racing his girlfriend Leanne Burnell, 21, through the streets of Taunton.
He had just overtaken Burnell's Ford Focus when he lost control, overturned and hit Amy and her friend, who were riding along a nearby cycle path.
The schoolgirl died and her friend was injured in the crash, which happened on the evening of June 15 last year on Blackbrook Way.
Prosecutors allege Burnell was "egging on" her boyfriend by playing a dangerous game of high-speed "cat and mouse" and using their cars as "toys" and the roads as a "playground".
The details came during the first day of Burnell's trial at Taunton Crown Court, where she is accused of causing death by dangerous driving.
Jones, of Mulberry Close, Taunton, has already admitted the same charge and awaits sentence.
Prosecutor William Hunter told the jury of seven men and five women that Burnell was jointly responsibility for the crash.
"Leonard Jones was driving far too fast because, the prosecution say, he was playing a high speed game of chase or racing with another car," he said.
"He was winning that game. The prosecution case is that as a result of game playing - this high speed and dangerous game - on a road in built up area with a speed limit of 30mph, Amy Hofmeister was killed.
"This defendant was playing games with Leonard Jones and as a result was jointly responsible for her death."
Mr Hunter told the court that the chase began when Burnell sped off from a Harvester pub where she had been drinking with Jones and friends.
Witnesses said that they had each had a pint of Strongbow cider.
Jurors watched a four-minute compilation of CCTV footage showing Jones chasing the speeding Burnell through the town, including turning down a no-car bus lane.
Burnell's Ford Focus was leading but Jones caught her up and overtook her at around 80mph - despite Jones's front seat passenger Larry Grant telling him to slow down.
One motorist who witnessed Burnell's high speed driving described seeing her laughing at her boyfriend, who is known as Nitty.
"She saw the defendant turn around towards the other car and smile and smirk," Mr Hunter said.
"The prosecution say they were clearly playing games with each other."
Other witnesses described seeing Burnell's car get "faster and faster".
"The car seemed like it was being driven at full throttle," Mr Hunter said.
"Five to six seconds later the witness says he saw a Vauxhall Vectra following the Ford Focus and almost losing control around the bend.
"They thought the Vectra was trying to catch up with the other car. He says they were driving dangerously and they went through the bus lane as if they were taking a short cut.
"They ignored the 'bus and cycle only' sign which perhaps shows their attitude to the rules and laws of the road."
Police crash investigators calculated Burnell's average speed as around 65mph while Jones was doing nearly 81mph.
When Burnell was arrested she denied racing her boyfriend and said she was driving between 20mph and 25mph.
She also maintained that she had never driven down the bus lane.
"The defendant has lied when she said she was driving at 20mph to 25mph and she lied about the route she took," Mr Hunter told jurors.
"There is clear evidence that she is driving at high speed.
"By the manner and actions of her driving she was encouraging Leonard Jones to drive dangerously. She was in effect egging him on.
"A car is not a toy and the road is not a playground.
"The prosecution's case is that she has used her car as a toy and the road as a playground.
"Call it chase, call it racing, call it cat and mouse. It is as a result of using the road a playground that Amy Hofmeister lost her life."
Burnell, of Bishop's Hull, Taunton, denies a single charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
The trial was adjourned until tomorrow.
London athletes get top healthcare - Yahoo! Eurosport
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London 2012 Olympics: Scottish fencer Keith Cook to continue fight against Team GB omission - Daily Telegraph
It has, though, also emerged that national fencing coach Ziemek Wojciechowski contacted other members of the British foil team, including fencers ranked lower than Cook, urging them to resubmit their details to performance manager Newton ahead of the deadline.
Leading Scottish sports lawyer Rod Mckenzie, senior partner at Harper Macleod, who acts for the Scottish Premier League and is the legal adviser to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, has taken up Cook's case on a pro bono basis and sent a letter to British Fencing, as well as copying representation to the British Olympic Association.
Cook said: "I feel utterly sickened. To find out they had excluded me from the Olympic selection because of an email address was insane – surreal.
"I am going to fight this injustice tooth and nail – I don't want this happening to any of the amazing young kids I coach. I have taught them that the way to succeed is through hard work and dedication."
British Fencing were unavailable for any immediate response, but have always maintained their selection process is transparent and robust, with several fencers having seen their appeals against non-selection already rejected.
Communications director David King said in a statement last week: "British Fencing strongly denies any bias or inappropriate action in the non-selection of Keith Cook for a discretionary Home Nation place at the London 2012 Olympics.
"Like the other 25 athletes in contention for an Olympic spot, Mr Cook would have been fully aware of what was required to achieve consideration.
"We certainly understand the disappointment that any athlete feels when devoting one's life to training and working to achieve a goal like this and coming short."
Britain's top fencer Richard Kruse, who qualified directed for the London Games, delivered a bronze medal at the European Championships in Italy this weekend.
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