New Forest man facing attempted murder trial over alleged dangerous driving dies days before court case
A 72-year-old man has died just days before he was set to stand trial accused of attempted murder in connection with a road traffic incident in the New Forest.
Peter Tillman, of Sway, Hampshire, was also set to be tried at Salisbury Crown Court for dangerous driving in connection with the crash between the Jaguar S-Type he was driving and a Mini on the A337 between Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst, Hampshire, on August 20, 2019.
The driver of the Mini, a 33-year-old woman from Dorset, and the passenger in the Jaguar, a 59-year-old woman from Sway, suffered minor injuries and were taken to Southampton General Hospital for treatment.
But the court was informed by the police on Tuesday, when the trial was due to start, that the defendant had died on Saturday.
Judge Susan Evans QC ordered the charges to be ‘declared of no legal effect’, and added: ‘I extend the court’s sympathies to those concerned.’
Tillman had pleaded not guilty to the two charges at a hearing at Winchester Crown Court in December 2019.