US servicewoman denies causing motorcyclist’s death by careless driving

A US servicewoman has denied causing the death of a motorcyclist by careless driving while travelling home from her base, and she faces a trial next year.

Airman first class Mikayla Hayes, 24, appeared before Norwich Crown Court on Wednesday charged over the death of 33-year-old Matthew Day.

The father-of-one died of his injuries after a red Honda Accord collided with the Yamaha motorbike he was riding on the A10 in Southery, near Downham Market, Norfolk, on August 26 this year.

The defendant, who has shoulder-length brown hair and wore a black trouser suit, listened to proceedings from the court’s secure dock, with one dock officer seated beside her.

She spoke only to confirm her personal details and to enter her plea of not guilty.

Judge Alice Robinson granted Hayes bail until December 11 2023 when she is due to appear at Norwich Crown Court for a trial estimated to last five to seven days.

Hayes, who had been travelling from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk to her home in Downham Market, Norfolk, had requested a trial in a US military court but was overruled by a UK judge at an earlier hearing.

Her barrister had argued that she was on duty at the time of the collision, but deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram ruled at Westminster Magistrates’ Court that Hayes “was simply travelling home after a day at work”.