Helena Thurm was killed when she was knocked down at a junction (Picture: MEN Media)

A woman was killed on her way home from a job interview after being knocked down by a man who ‘gambled on an amber light’, a court has heard.

Helena Thurm, 25, was crossing the road when she was knocked down by Glenn Wall, 35, who denies death by careless or inconsiderate driving and death by dangerous driving.

Manchester Crown Court heard that he drove straight ahead in a left turn only lane when a traffic light was on amber.

However he said the collision on Manchester Road, Sale, Greater Manchester, was his victim’s fault.

Wall was on his way home from work in Rochdale while Ms Thurm was returning to Altrincham after a job interview in Manchester city centre.

A court heard that driver Glenn Wall, 35, ‘gambled with an amber light’ (Picture: MEN Media)

Prosecutor Rob Hall said that there were road works at the scene of the collision but signage and road markings informed drivers that the left hand lane was only to be used for left-turning traffic.

The car in front of Mr Wall started to slow as the lights changed from green to amber, but he is alleged to have seen it ‘as an opportunity’.

He undertook the car in front, colliding with Ms Thurm who had been waiting to cross the road.

She suffered catastrophic injuries and later died. The jury was told that Mr Wall was travelling between 30 and 36mph at the time of the collision, in a 30mph zone.

Mr Hall added: ‘The Crown therefore suggest that excess speed has a part to play in this case. In effect he gambled on the amber light.’

The collision happened at a junction where there were long-term roadworks in place (Picture: Google)

Mr Wall stopped at the scene and told officers that he had gone through the lights on amber while travelling at 30mph.

He told police Ms Thurm had ‘stepped out in front of his car’, and that he had swerved to try and avoid her unsuccessfully.

The following month Mr Wall was formally interviewed by officers.

He told them he regularly used the route, having worked in Rochdale for eight years, and that he did not want to perform an emergency stop.

In January this year Mr Wall was charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Giving evidence, Ms Thurm’s mother Sandra, 64, told how the last conversation she and her husband Alan had with their daughter was when she rang to say how she had got on at her interview.

Following the interview, university graduate Ms Thurm, one of three children, had gone shopping in the Arndale centre and had a haircut before catching the Metrolink home.

Mr Wall, of Lawrence Road, Altrincham, denies both offences he is charged with.