AN AUDI driver was cleared of causing the deaths of two OAPs – after doctors concluded it was more likely than not that he was suffering an epileptic fit at the time of the fatal crash.

Nicholas Haynes, 33, was said to have driving at more than 80mph and on the wrong-side of the road when his Audi A5 struck a Honda Jazz just outside Corston, near Malmesbury.

Couple Gillian Smith, 86, and Anthony Webster, 80, both passengers in the Honda, were pronounced dead at the scene on September 16, 2019.

Haynes denied two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, claiming that he was suffering an epileptic fit.

And on Wednesday, medical experts instructed by both the Crown and Haynes’ legal team agreed that it was more likely than not that he was suffering the fit when he struck the Honda.

Judge Jason Taylor QC instructed the jury at Swindon Crown Court to return formal not guilty verdicts.

On Tuesday, jurors heard that Haynes was seen on CCTV leaving the Dyson offices near Malmesbury at 4.14pm.

He was driving at the speed limit and waited at temporary traffic lights in Corston. At around 4.23pm, as the line of traffic stopped as cars ahead waited to turn across the road, the Audi struck the back of a Range Rover Sport then made off at speed.

Drivers claimed to have seen the Audi, which was travelling southbound on the A429 towards the M4, pull onto the wrong side of the road to pass a vehicle turning right and, after driving over double white lines, missed “by inches” another vehicle travelling in the opposite direction.

The Audi struck the Honda Jazz head on. The force of the crash left gouge marks in the road and the Honda was forced into the southbound lane and struck a Ford Focus.

Witnesses said they initially thought Haynes was drunk, although they could not smell alcohol and he later tested negative for drink or drugs. He was trying to start his engine and said he had no memory of the crash.

He told a police officer at the scene that he suffered from epilepsy and had seizures at night, but said he was taking medication for the condition. At the roadside, he said his epilepsy would not have affected his driving or had an impact on the crash. “I was driving along and the next thing I know I’m being pulled from my car. I don’t remember having an accident,” he added.

Haynes’ case when the matter came to court this week was that he was suffering a seizure at the time of both crashes.

Opening the case on Tuesday, prosecutor Don Tait suggested that Haynes – who four months earlier had been involved in another crash – had experienced a short seizure when he struck the Range Rover then made off.

Mr Tait told the jury: “The prosecution will concede that the defendant may – and I underline the word may – have suffered a brief focal seizure which would have lasted seconds immediately prior to the collision with the Range Rover.

“Thereafter...he took the conscious decision not to stop and instead he overtook the Range Rover, was able to narrowly avoid a collision with the vehicle ahead about to turn right and then accelerated away, speeding for approximately 400 yds changing gear as he did so.”  

Haynes, of Newark Road, Gloucester, was found not guilty of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.