[visordown.com] - Driver chatted on the phone after killing rider

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Hit-and-run driver Darren February

A DRIVER who killed a motorcyclist in west London last December was seen casually talking on his phone as he collected his belongings from his car before fleeing the scene of the accident.

Darren February, 32, was driving his girlfriend’s Vauxhall Astra on the wrong side of the road at speeds of up to 58mph when he collided with 51-year-old rider Kenneth Baldwin on his Honda ST1100 Pan European in Holland Park, Southwark Crown Court heard today.

After the accident, February was captured on CCTV talking on his mobile as he walked away from the crash scene. He then returned to his car to collect his possessions without bothering to check on Mr Baldwin, who lay dying in the road after hitting the car’s windscreen.

Mr Baldwin, who leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

February, a career criminal with offences including burglary, theft and assault, eluded the police until the next day, when he was arrested for stealing. He gave a false name but was linked to the crash by his fingerprints.

Sentencing is due to take place tomorrow (May 12).

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