A trial date has been set in the case of a man who stands accused of causing an elderly pedestrian’s death by dangerous driving following a collision involving a coach outside Carlisle’s railway station.
Roger Denwood, who was aged 75 and from Cockermouth, was one of two people outside the main entrance at Court Square when tragedy struck at around 6.20pm on November 30 last year.
A police spokesman said a rail replacement bus had crashed into the front of the building. Two people were reported to have been injured, including Mr Denwood, who sadly later died.
The Reminder reported at the time that Mr Denwood was a former Keswick man who had been returning home from Musselburgh racecourse near Edinburgh, where, as part of a syndicate, he had been watching his horse Champ Royal race.
An inquest opened earlier this year heard he had been transported, after the collision, to a trauma centre in Newcastle where lifesaving treatment was attempted. However, Mr Denwood’s injuries were too severe and he was transferred to Carlisle’s Eden Valley Hospice for end-of-life care.
Michael Cockton, aged 47, appeared at the city’s crown court on Monday morning.
During a short hearing in front of Judge Michael Fanning, Cockton pleaded not guilty to one charge which alleges that he caused Mr Denwood’s death by driving a coach dangerously in the railway station car park.
A date for a trial in front of a jury was listed. This is due to start on September 8, and – it is estimated – will last around three days.
In the meantime Cockton, of St Helens Avenue, Flimby, near Maryport, remains on bail.
