A teenage university student was killed instantly when the car he was travelling in crashed into a taxi on a gentle bend, a jury has been told.
Back seat passenger Matthew Hesketh, 18, a student at the University of Central Lancashire, died of massive injuries after the car his friend was driving "sledged" across Preston Road at Longridge, near Preston, and hit the taxi on the opposite side.
Matthew's friend, fellow student and part-time assistant chef, Adam Catterall, is charged with causing his death by dangerous driving just after midnight on February 3 last year.
The defendant, 19, of Mill Lane in Goosnargh, near Preston, denies the allegation. His trial at Preston Crown Court is expected to last a week.
Prosecutor Mark Lamberty told the jury that both friends and another teenager in the car had been working on a cold evening which was "on the cusp of freezing".
Catterall was driving from Longridge towards Preston in his Peugeot 106 with a front seat passenger, and Matthew, a restaurant kitchen assistant, was wearing a seatbelt in the rear off-side passenger seat.
Mr Lamberty said the Peugeot overtook cars and the prosecution allege the driver "lost it" on the gentle right-hand bend near Forshaw's dairy.
The car "sledged out of control" and collided side on with the taxi coming in the opposite direction.
Mr Lamberty told the jury the front seat passenger, the taxi driver and the defendant were all injured in the "frightful accident" but Matthew, of Woodplumpton Lane in Preston, died.
The two cars the defendant had overtaken were travelling at about 50mph which was the limit for the road, said Mr Lamberty, and one of the drivers later told police the Peugeot seemed "itching to get past".
SkiddingMr Lamberty said the defendant must have been travelling at 60mph. After the collision the Peugeot ended up in a ditch.
When questioned a week after the accident, Catterall told police he recalled overtaking a car, getting back into his carriageway and skidding.
Seven weeks later he agreed he may have overtaken two cars, losing control.
Mr Lamberty told the jury "the Crown say his driving was far below that of a careful driver".
The defendant admitted his driving was careless but the Crown's case was that the standard was far worse than that and reckless, he added.
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