Bicyclist acquitted in collision that killed pedestrian

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Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney Steven Gahan asks questions of Patrick Lessard of the Bike Barn. Lessard inspected the bicycle for Manchester Police after the fatal accident.
Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney Steven Gahan asks questions of Patrick Lessard of the Bike Barn. Lessard inspected the bicycle for Manchester Police after the fatal accident. Photo/Jeffrey Hastings

MANCHESTER, NH – A jury deliberated about two hours Wednesday before finding a bicyclist not guilty of negligent homicide in a 2021 accident that resulted in the death of a 69-year-old man.

Eric Earle, 26, was accused of hitting city resident Claude Allard with his bicycle about 7 p.m. on May 13, 2021, in a crosswalk.  The accident happened at Hanover and Elm streets, outside City Hall.

Allard, a lifelong resident of Manchester, had owned Tenet Electrical School and had taught at the Vocational Technical College in Laconia for 27 years.

A witness told police Earle was moving quickly down the street and didn’t stop for a red light when he struck Allard, who hit his head on the pavement.

Public Defender Brian Civale, at a bail hearing in 2021, called the incident a “tragic circumstance.”

He said Allard, who was looking over his shoulder talking to someone, stepped out from behind a pickup truck and Earle “didn’t see him.”  It was “very much an accident,” Civale said.

Initially, he said, prosecutors said charges were not warranted but then police spoke to the witness about the traffic light.  They also had Earle’s bicycle examined and determined it was about 20 years old and that its rear brake was not working.

Eric Earle, left, sits next to one of his public defenders in court. Earle was found not guilty. Photo/Jeffrey Hastings
Eric Earle, left, sits next to one of his public defenders in court. Earle was found not guilty. Photo/Jeffrey Hastings

 

 

 

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Pat Grossmith

Pat Grossmith is a freelance reporter.