Amazon driver was shouting for help, court told

An Amazon delivery driver shouted for help as he was clinging onto his stolen van moments before his death, a witness has told a court.

Claudiu-Carol Kondor, 42, died when Mark Ross drove the vehicle into a parked car in Leeds, on 20 August last year, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Ross, 32, has admitted manslaughter but denies murdering Mr Kondor, who was originally from Romania but lived in Sheffield.

During the hearing on Thursday, witness Tracy Higson said she had been driving home from a shop when she saw the van come "flying out of a side street", with parcels tumbling out of the open passenger door.

The jury previously heard how the van had been stolen at around 18:45 BST and Mr Kondor, who tried to stop the theft, grabbed hold of the van through the near-side passenger door.

Mr Kondor was then dragged along as the van was driven at around 60mph, twice the road's 30mph limit, the court heard.

Even after it collided with a parked black car, Mr Kondor managed to cling on.

It was when the van crashed into a parked blue Mini on Heights Drive, around 0.3 miles (0.5km) from where it was stolen, that Mr Kondor was fatally injured.

Ms Higson described how the van was being driven "erratically" and she had to swerve her car in order to avoid a collision.

"The passenger door was wide open, the Amazon driver was hanging off the side of the door," she said.

"The gentleman that died, I heard him shout 'help' as he was still hanging onto the inside of the door."

When asked what she saw inside the van, she said parcels which "all came flying onto the road as it came round the corner".

"I picked them up and put them in my car," she said.

"There were people over the road, running towards them. To me it looked like drug addicts, that's why I picked them up, put them in my car and rang 999."

The witness was asked if she recalled seeing speed bumps in the road, but she said she could not remember.

Another witness told the court she saw the van as she was walking down the road, driving "zigzaggy".

"It was going at some speed," Lynn Spencer said.

"I couldn't tell you how fast because I don't drive, but it whizzed past me and there was a gentleman hanging onto the side."

She said she remembered exclaiming "oh my god", adding: "I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

The jury heard Ross, of Conference Road, Armley, denies murder, saying he did not know Mr Kondor was hanging out of the van, and thus did not intend to kill him.

The trial continues.

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