Death crash driver dropped his trousers and underpants as part of a '˜cheeky little dare'

Minesh Parbat, 36, said he dropped his trousers and underpants as part of a “cheeky little dare” with Lisa Watling but added “there was nothing sexual in it”.

He told jurors there were “sexual tones” as mother-of-two Ms Watling, 28, had described feeling “horny” to him and had invited him to pull down his trousers.

But he denied anything sexual taking place as he drove his BMW Z3 car, adding that he had instead struggled to get his girlfriend off him before the crash which killed her.

At Lewes Crown Court, Parbat, of Gregory Close, Maidenbower, Crawley, denies causing death by dangerous driving.

In a stormy exchange with prosecutor Philip Meredith, Parbat was accused of shedding “crocodile tears” in court “to save your own skin”.

Mr Meredith told him: “You dropped your trousers and pants to play a part in a sexual act.”

Parbat replied: “It was a dare. I wasn’t thinking about, but maybe.”

Parbat, dressed in a light grey suit and red tie, told the jury: “It’s got sexual tones, but it wasn’t sexual because nothing happened.”

He went on: “My main concern was what happened which caused the crash. I was not thinking about anything sexual because there was nothing sexual in it.”

The trial heard that Parbat and Ms Watling, a hair salon worker, had gone out for a meal at TGI Friday’s in Crawley on March 8 last year before returning to her home in Kestrel Close, Langley Green.

After Parbat realised he had left his mobile phone at his home, the couple drove in his BMW to collect it and the crash happened as they returned to her house along the A2011 at about 1.40am on March 9.

During their evening together, Parbat had drunk a pint of Stella, a chocolate Martini and also a “mouthful” of two cocktails at a bar and “most” of a double brandy and Coke at Ms Watling’s home.

Parbat suffered facial injuries in the crash and gave a positive blood test which showed 102 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood - the drink-drive limit being 80 milligrams.

Giving evidence, Parbat said Ms Watling had made “a suggestion of a sexual sort” before he pulled over and pulled down his trousers and underpants to just above his knees.

He said he then carried on driving before Ms Watling sat on the dashboard, then moved in front of him, obscuring his view as he drove at between 50mph and 60mph.

Parbat said he felt her necklace touch his eye, and he told the jury: “I said, ‘no, babe’. I was scared. I thought she was just going to get off me.

“I had to struggle to get her off me. I had both hands on the steering wheel at the time. I had to physically get her off me. There was nothing else I could do.

“I didn’t know which direction I was going.”

He added: “Once I had got Lisa off me I had a chance to see where I was but by then it was too late.”

Speaking of the moments before the crash, he said: “We were driving back (to her home). It was just average - talking, driving.

“I came towards a Tesco close to where the crash happened and she said, ‘I’m horny’. She would say that to me. We were still driving at that point.

“There was a suggestion made of a sexual sort. She had come out with something, a silly little thing like, ‘pull your trousers down’. So I stopped at the roundabout.”

Breaking down in tears, he described the impact of Ms Watling’s death on him, saying: “It destroyed me. It totally destroyed me because I thought we were going to be together for a long time.”

Mr Meredith suggested to him that Parbat had not pulled over and that Ms Watling was sitting in a “conventional sitting position” before the crash.

He told Parbat: “The reality was that you were driving dangerously while over the limit. I suggest that your conduct in that car fell far below what this jury would expect of a reasonable and competent driver.”

Parbat replied: “No.”

Parbat said Ms Watling suffered from intracranial hypertension, and suffered from headaches and was on medication including anti-epilepsy tablets.

He went on: “I loved her. Even from when I first met her, I had strong feelings for her. She was a beautiful person, inside and out. She just had something. She was special.”.

NOTE: This newspaper would like to remind its readers that this is an ongoing trial in a court of law. You have a responsibility to adhere to the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ rule of British Law. This page is not monitored all day, every day and as such you have a responsibility as publishers to abide by contempt of court laws. You are liable for prosecution should you break the law. Thank you. Editor, Gary Shipton

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