- Abdul Qayyum, 44, knocked Jonathan Ollivier, 38, off his motorbike last year
- He was due to star in final performance of The Car Man at Sadler's Wells Theatre
- 'Charismatic dancer' was thrown into lamppost and died on 9 August last year
- Qayyum, of Slough, denies one count of causing death by careless driving
A minicab driver killed a star ballet dancer while making a hands-free phone call as the victim made his way to perform the lead in his final Sadler's Wells performance, a court heard today.
Abdul Qayyum, 44, was driving a Mercedes S Class when he knocked Jonathan Ollivier, 38, off his motorbike, throwing him into a lamppost on Farringdon Road Clerkenwell, north London.
Mr Ollivier, who was due to star in the final performance of The Car Man at Sadler's Wells Theatre, suffered catastrophic head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene just before 12pm on August 9 last year.
Qayuum, who denies one count of causing death by careless driving, took no evasive action at all before clipping the rear pannier of Mr Ollivier's bike, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Ollivier was described by The Ca r Man's choreographer Matthew Bourne as 'one of the most powerful and charismatic dancers of his generation'.
In the dock: Minicab driver Abdul Qayyum, 44, left, was driving a Mercedes S Class when he knocked Jonathan Ollivier, 38, right, off his motorbike, throwing him into a lamppost
Star quality: Mr Ollivier, pictured, who was due to star in the final performance of The Car Man at Sadler's Wells Theatre, for which he had received rave reviews
Mr Ollivier was travelling at about 50mph on the 30mph Farringdon Road, the jury heard, as Qayuum tried to drive straight across from Ray Street Bridge on to Ray Street.
The minicab driver denies a single charge of causing death by careless driving.
Mr Ollivier, a father-of-two from Northampton, was principal dancer with the Northern Ballet for eight years appearing in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake in New York in 2010
Prosecutor Mark Gadsden said: 'The defendant was in the middle of a phone call and it may be that distracted him from what he should have been doing which was looking properly to the left of him - albeit the motorcycle was going in excess of the 30mph speed limit.'
'The evidence is very straight forward - it is just a question of your interpretation of it,' he said.
'As far as you are concerned that will lead to your verdict at the end of the trial.
'The Crown say he caused the death of a motorcyclist called Jonathan Ollivier by driving carelessly - the standard of his driving fell below that which you would expect of a normal and careful driver.'
'The motorcycle was heading in a northerly direction and the car driver was crossing the main road and met the cyclist.
'The Crown's case is that the defendant, the car driver, didn't look properly as he was about to cross main road and therefore didn't see the motorcycle and just carried on without looking.
'He ended up colliding with the motorcycle's rear panier, causing the motorcyclist to lose control and slide along the line of the curb and collide with the lamppost.
'It caused massive head injuries and near instantaneous death.'
The star (far right meeting The Earl and The Countess of Wessex) was described by choreographer Matthew Bourne as 'one of the most powerful and charismatic dancers of his generation'
Mr Gadsden continued: 'He didn't look properly, he didn't see the motorcyclist at all otherwise he would have taken avoiding action.
'The motorcyclist had eight of way so he was right to assume the car would stop and let him carry on up the road.'
'The defendant doesn't take any avoiding action, doesn't slow down so the impact was inevitable.'
The dancer had been praised for his performance as Luca, with one critic saying he brought a 'brooding power and danger of a matador' to the role.
Mr Ollivier, a father-of-two from Northampton, graduated from the prestigious Rambert Ballet School and was principal dancer with the Northern Ballet for eight years.
Qayyum, of Slough, Berkshire, denies one count of causing death by careless driving.
The trial, which is expected to last three days, continues.
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