Fiance’s tears over death of daughter of Ecuadorian politician in crash

The fiance of an Ecuadorian politician’s daughter has wept in court as he described the “terrifying” moment she was killed by a speeding Mercedes.

Vanessa Sagnay de la Bastida, 28, was struck by the car as she crossed a road near Wandsworth Bridge in west London while holding her fiance’s hand, the Old Bailey was told.

Motorist Octavian Cadar, 39, was allegedly driving the Mercedes at more than double the 20mph speed limit at the time of the collision, which caused Ms Sagnay to somersault in the air and land on a railing.

Ms Sagnay, who was known as Charlotte, suffered a head injury and died at the scene around 13 minutes later, despite the efforts of an off-duty doctor.

Vanessa Sagnay de la Bastida, who was known as Charlotte (Family handout/PA) PA Media

Giving evidence on Monday, her fiance Michael Williams said that he had known Ms Sagnay throughout school and university in Scotland, where they grew up.

The couple had moved to London for work and study and had been on their way home from the gym when the accident happened on the evening of March 16 2022.

Mr Williams said they had been holding hands as they began to cross Bridgend Road, having checked it was clear at the pedestrian crossing.

Mr Williams told jurors: “We got halfway across the road when I heard a loud revving sound of a car accelerating and backfiring.

“The car was coming toward me startlingly fast. I think it was in the centre lane.

“At first I froze. I was so confused. And then I took a couple of steps forward to get towards the central reservation.”

Mr Williams broke down in the witness box as he described the moment he realised that his fiancee was not with him, saying:”I was not holding her hand any more.”

He told jurors that Ms Sagnay ran back the way they had come and got as far as the bus lane when she was hit on the lefthand side by the Mercedes.

He said: “She fell on the front of the car. She went onto a street sign. There was a loud bang. I screamed and I crossed the street. I tried to call the ambulance.”

Mr Williams said Ms Sagnay was not moving and her head was swollen.

He added: “I was on the phone to the emergency services and that is when the driver of the car came out.

“He was shouting. He was angry and he was saying ‘why did you freeze? Why didn’t you keep walking?’

“I said to him ‘because we were terrified’.”

Mr Williams said Cadar was standing over him and trying to move Ms Sagnay.

He told jurors: “I told him to not touch her. She obviously had some injuries. I didn’t want him making it worse. He was shouting.

“There were suddenly lots of people there and one woman said she was a doctor. She started doing CPR, chest compressions. I could hear the driver talking to people while this was going on.

“I was sat on the pavement. The paramedics around her at one point they turned round to me, trying to find out where I was. I knew then. They told me she had died.”

Cadar, of Bexley, south-east London, has admitted causing her death by careless driving but denied the more serious offence of causing death by dangerous driving.

Prosecutor Amanda Hilton said Cadar had left a McDonald’s drive-through restaurant and was on his way to visit his girlfriend in Fulham after work when the accident happened at around 10.06pm on Bridgend Road.

Witnesses described the “revving” sound of a speeding vehicle and the sound of a sports car accelerating through gears, jurors heard.

Ms Sagnay was seen by one witness to somersault in the air twice before there was a thud. She died at the scene at 10.19pm.

Afterwards, Cadar allegedly claimed the man with the victim had stopped on the road, waved his hands and was pulling Ms Sagnay backwards and forwards.

Ms Hilton said the defendant had suggested that Mr Williams caused the collision and implied the couple had been “messing around in the road”.

But the prosecutor said a forensic expert had concluded Cadar’s car had travelled at an average speed of 55mph from the McDonald’s drive-through to Bridgend Road.

She said he was doing 48mph just before impact in the 20mph zone.

If the defendant had been driving at 30mph, the couple would have been able to complete their crossing to the traffic island, jurors were told.

Ms Hilton said: “It is the Crown’s case that Mr Cadar’s driving fell far below what would be expected of careful and competent driving.

“He was on a road he knew well. He was going to see his girlfriend after work. He must have been aware there was a pedestrian crossing there.”

She said the defendant had driven at “excessive speed” which was more than double the limit in the area on a wet surface.

During Ms Hilton’s opening speech, Ms Sagnay’s mother began to weep loudly in court and appeared shocked to learn the defendant had touched her daughter as she lay mortally wounded.

Addressing the jury, Judge Anuja Dhir KC said was understandable that “emotions run high”, but urged them to set aside their own feelings and try the case on the evidence.

The Old Bailey trial continues.