Minesh Parbat |
He denies causing death by dangerous driving and claims there was no sexual activity taking place.
Parbat, 36, was behind the wheel of the powerful BMW Z3 when he lost control and crashed, Lewes Crown Court heard.
Hair salon worker Lisa, 28, was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car in the crash and died of her injuries later that day, the court was told.
Parbat, of Maidenbower, West Sussex, was found by a witness with his trousers and belt round his ankles with his 'backside on show' and mum-of-two Lisa was also half naked, the court heard.
Prosecutors say Parbat was found to be above the drink drive limit following the incident at 1.40am on March 9 last year in Crawley, West Sussex.
Philip Meredith, prosecuting, said: "This is a case where somebody has died untimely and unnecessarily.
"The BMW Z3 was being driven by Mr Parbat with Lisa Watling, his then girlfriend, in the front passenger seat.
"In his first police interview the defendant said he hadn't been able to find his phone and went to go home to look for it but Miss Watling insisted on travelling with him.
"He said he found his phone at home but that it was the last thing he remembered until waking up in hospital.
"For his second interview, on June 13, his memory was better.
"He said on the return journey Miss Watling said she was feeling horny and started doing things she shouldn't have been.
"He said she put her bottom on the dashboard and went to climb across him but stressed while he didn't have a full view of the road that he was in control.
"He told police that he did not view her behaviour as being sexual in any way and that he did not engage with her.
"When he was then asked to provide an account for why his trousers were down he was unable to do so."
Lisa, of nearby Langley Green, died in the crash on a clear night with fine roadside conditions, witnesses told the court.
Mr Meredith added: "The car was heading westbound on the A2011 when it veered and left the carriageway into the central reservation.
"Mr Parbat tried to correct that drifting but he over-steered, it was too abrupt, and the car went out of control and left the carriageway and crashed into a fence.
"The vehicle bounced off the fence and rotated anti-clockwise back into the carriageway. The extent of the damage was considerable to say the least.
"All four tyres were deflated, the car lost its registration plate and there was damage to the windscreen.
"A door became unhinged and Miss Watling was thrown out of the car into the road."
The jury heard husband and wife Howard and Wendy Mordecai were the first to arrive at the scene.
Wendy told the jury she found the BMW straddling both carriageways, looking "quite a wreck with smoke coming from the bonnet".
She said: "I saw a man lying with his head hanging over the kerb and the rest of his body on the grass.
"His trousers, which had a belt, and his pants were both round his ankles and his backside was on show.
"I was really shocked and stood back thinking 'what has happened here?'"
The witness told the court how she went to call for an ambulance when she saw Lisa lying half-naked in the road.
Wendy told the court: "She had a T-shirt and bra on that were twisted around her shoulders and neck. I adjusted it to cover her up.
"She was lying face down and the rest of her body was visible. From her chest down she was naked."
During a police interview Parbat said he had drunk a pint of Stella Artois and a cocktail earlier in the evening while he was out with his girlfriend.
Mr Meredith added: "He was given a roadside breath test which he failed.
"Due to his facial injuries he was taken to hospital where a proper blood sample procedure was undertaken by doctors and police.
"A reading of 102 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood was taken, with the limit being 80 milligrams."
The trial continues.
(Daily Mirror)
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