A PENSIONER killed in an A64 collision was with a prostitute when he died, York Crown Court heard today.

Ronald Dakin had been prescribed Viagra by his doctor, the jury in the trial of Anthony Jackson, 41, was told.

He was driving a BMW which was in collision with Jackson's Mercedes lorry, which the prosecution alleges was making a U-turn at the Tadcaster Road A64 ring road intersection near York.

In agreed facts read to the jury, David Bradshaw, defending, said that Mr Dakin's passenger, Lisa Thompson, was 27 years old, and had convictions for prostitution both before and after the accident.

She had disobeyed a witness summons ordering her to give evidence at the trial. Judge David Bentley QC told the jury that her evidence may have assisted them in reaching their verdict.

The jury also heard that Mr Dakin had had both hips replaced, walked with sticks, and had had operations to remove cataracts from his eyes.

The court yesterday heard that Jackson fell asleep as his vehicle travelled from one interchange to another in September last year.

The jury heard that within hours of the crash, Jackson told police he fell asleep just after he drove the lorry on to the A64 eastbound at the A1237 Copmanthorpe interchange.

In a police interview, read to the jury, he said he remembered nothing more until Mr Dakin's BMW hit the goods vehicle.

In a second interview two months later, Jackson told police he had woken up to find his lorry heading for the central reservation and braked hard.

He checked there was no traffic, then started reversing. As he did so, Mr Dakin's car hit him.

Mr Bradshaw told the jury his client would not go into the witness box and would not call any witnesses. Jackson, of St Paul's Terrace, Holgate Road, York, denies causing death by dangerous driving. The jury was expected to consider its verdict today.

Updated: 14:34 Friday, January 04, 2002