Who is Charlie Alliston, what is a Planet X fixed-wheel bike and what happened to Kim Briggs?

FATAL CRASH

Charlie Alliston is charged with the manslaughter of pedestrian Kim Briggs after he knocked down and killed her

MUM-OF-TWO Kim Briggs died after a collision with a cyclist while crossing the road in Old Street in East London back in February, 2016.

Charlie Alliston, who knocked down Kim, blamed the victim after he had been illegally riding an Olympic-style track bike with no front brake, a court heard. Here’s everything you need to know about what happened…

Charlie Alliston is charged with the manslaughter of pedestrian Kim Briggs after crashing into her as she crossed a London road on her lunch break

Who is Charlie Alliston?

Alliston, 20, is charged with manslaughter after he fatally crashed into Kim Briggs, 44, as she crossed Old Street in East London on 12 February last year.

Then aged 18, Alliston was said to have been travelling at nearly 20mph when he mowed down the mum-of-two during her lunch break.

The court heard Alliston was riding a fixed-gear track bicycle with no front brake, which is illegal to ride on the road without modification.

Hours after the crash, Alliston allegedly posted a comment online after seeing a newspaper report about the incident.

A jury heard he wrote: “It was her fault, but no she did not deserve it. Hopefully it is a lesson to be learned on her behalf.”

He allegedly went on to claim Briggs had been on her mobile phone: “I refuse to accept any responsibility in this whatsoever… It’s not my fault people think they are invincible or just have zero respect for cyclists.

“What makes it worse is that, even when people were helping her, her phone was going off continuously with texts showing she was on it at the time. If you value your phone more than your life maybe this is the type of wake up call you need.”

Alliston, of Bermondsey, denies manslaughter and causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving.

What happened to Kim Briggs?

Mum-of-two Kim Briggs suffered fatal head injuries when she was knocked down while crossing the road on her lunch break

The 44-year-old mum-of two was on her lunch break when she was knocked down while crossing the road.

Alliston allegedly shouted at Mrs Briggs to “get out of the way” twice before their heads smashed together.

She suffered catastrophic head injuries in the collision and died a week later in hospital.

Mrs Briggs had just started a new job as head of HR at a company close to where she was knocked down in the street.

What is a Planet X fixed-wheel bike?

Alliston was riding an Olympics-style Planet X track bike which is illegal to ride on the street, a court heard

Alliston was allegedly riding a Planet X carbon-frame fixed-gear cycle – which is seen racing at the Olympic velodrome.

Such bikes are used by the likes of Olympic athletes Chris Hoy and Laura Trott.

These types of bikes can only legally be taken on to the streets if fitted with a front brake.

The Old Bailey heard Alliston claimed to have ridden track bikes since 2014.

In 2015 he tweeted about taking the brakes off a previous bike as like being “in a Lucas Brunelle movie”, referring to an American stunt rider, jurors heard.

He bought his black Planet X fixed-wheel track bike for £470 – a month before the crash.

Investigators concluded that Alliston could have stopped in time if he had a front brake, the court heard.

But he claims he had no idea it was a legal requirement for a front brake – and insisted it would not have made any difference when he saw Kim come into the road.

“I tried to go around,” he said.

“Having a brake, I wouldn’t have had enough time to pull it.

“It was a few split seconds prior to the impact, which caused the impact, so a brake at the time wouldn’t have made a difference.”