Image copyright PA Image caption Michael "Kit" Carson died in a car crash on the first day of a football sex abuse trial

Former youth football coach Michael "Kit" Carson has died in a car crash on the day he was due to stand trial on sex abuse charges.

Mr Carson, 75, of St Bartholomew's Court, Riverside, Cambridge, was accused of the sexual abuse of boys under 16, from 1978 to 2009.

His Mazda left the road and hit a tree at 09:45 GMT on Monday, police have said. He died at the scene.

Peterborough Crown Court was informed of his death on Tuesday morning.

Judge Matthew Lowe ruled that the case file be closed. Mr Carson's death will now be referred to the coroner.

Jeremy Benson QC, prosecuting, told the court: "The defendant died yesterday morning."

Image copyright Terry Harris Image caption Mr Carson was killed when his car hit a tree on the A1303

Cambridgeshire Police said in a statement that Mr Carson was driving his red Mazda 3 when it left the road and went into a tree on the A1303 near Bottisham, about seven miles east of Cambridge.

No other vehicle or person was involved, a spokesman said.

The court heard that his body was later formally identified by his wife, Pauline Carson.

The former coach and scout had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing at Cambridge Crown Court to 12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Cambridgeshire Police said the allegations involved 11 victims, all boys under the age of 16.

Mr Carson had worked for Peterborough United, Cambridge United and Norwich City football clubs.</s>Former youth football coach and scout Michael "Kit" Carson has died in a car crash the day before he was due to stand trial accused of sexually abusing boys, Peterborough Crown Court has heard.

Carson was scheduled to face the charges of historical sexual abuse of boys aged under 16 on Tuesday, but was involved in a single vehicle road traffic collision on Monday.

Carson, 75, had denied 12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was bailed following an earlier hearing at Cambridge Crown Court, and was due to appear at Peterborough Crown Court on Tuesday for trial.

Carson, of St Bartholomew's Court, Riverside, Cambridge, worked at Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United.

Cambridgeshire Police said the allegations involved 11 victims, all boys under the age of 16, between 1978 and 2009.</s>A former football youth coach and scout set to go on trial for sexual abuse has died in a car crash.

Michael "Kit" Carson, 75, had pleaded not guilty to abusing 11 boys under the age of 16 between 1978 and 2009.

Carson's trial was set to begin on Monday, where he planned to contest 12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

But he was found dead following a single-vehicle crash on Monday around 9.45am involving a tree.

Carson's trial had been listed to start at Peterborough Crown Court, and on Tuesday the court was told details of his death.</s>Ex football coach Kit Carson dies in car crash on first day of trial to face child sex offences

A former youth football coach and scout accused of sexually abusing 11 boys under the age of 16 has died in a car crash just a day before he was due to face trial.

Michael Sean Carson, known as “Kit”, 75, stood accused of 12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

His trial was due to open yesterday (January 7) at Peterborough Crown Court but police announced today that he had died in the crash on the A1303 at Bottisham yesterday morning.

Carson, of St Bartholomew’s Court, Cambridge, was driving his red Mazda 3 at about 9.45am when it left the road and crashed into a tree.

A spokesperson said: “Emergency services attempted to save Mr Carson’s life but he was declared dead at the scene a short time later.

“No other vehicle or person was involved in the collision.”

Carson charged with the alleged offences at Cambridge Crown Court last year after being arrested in January 2017.

Police say that the victims have been informed and efforts are being made to contact all the witnesses.

Carson, who denied the charges, previously worked at Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United.

Anyone who saw the collision or has dash cam footage should call 101, quoting incident 100 of January 7.</s>AN ENGLISH FORMER youth football coach who was due to stand trial on sex abuse charges has died in a car crash on the day his trial was set to begin.

Michael ‘Kit’ Carson (75) has been identified as the victim of the single vehicle crash after the car he was driving hit a tree in Cambridge.

The crash happened yesterday morning at 9.45am with police saying the red Mazda 3 car he was driving left the road and crashed into a tree.

No other vehicle or person was involved in the collision.

Emergency services attempted to save his life but Carson was declared at the scene a short time later.

Carson was due to stand trial at Peterborough Crown Court, beginning yesterday, on multiple sexual assault charges alleged to have happened between 1978 and 2009.

Carson was accused of the sexual abuse of boys aged under 16.

Police have said that the alleged victims in the case have been informed and that efforts are also being made to contact all witnesses.

BBC News reports that Judge Matthew Lowe ruled that the case file be closed.</s>A former youth football coach and scout was found dead in a single-vehicle car crash on the day he was due to go on trial accused of the historical sexual abuse of boys aged under 16.

Michael “Kit” Carson, 75, had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing at Cambridge Crown Court to 12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Cambridgeshire Police said the allegations involved 11 victims, all boys under the age of 16, between 1978 and 2009.

Carson had worked at Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United.

His trial was listed to start at Peterborough Crown Court on Monday, and on Tuesday the court was told details of his death.

Jeremy Benson, prosecuting, said: “The defendant died yesterday morning. He was involved in a road traffic collision at about 9.45am yesterday morning.

“There is an investigation being carried out and I therefore don’t propose to go into any other details.

“The position is that the car was registered to Mr Carson and the person who died was of the appropriate age and had in his possession identification documents in the name of Mr Carson and also yesterday afternoon at approximately 4.30pm the body was identified by Mr Carson’s widow.”

Inspector Amarjit Singh QPM told the court the body of Carson was formally identified by his wife Pauline Carson.

Judge Matthew Lowe ruled that the case file be closed.

Carson, of St Bartholomew’s Court, Riverside, Cambridge, had been on bail.</s>A former youth football coach and scout, who was due to stand trial accused of the sexual abuse of boys aged under 16, has died in a car crash.

Michael ‘Kit’ Carson, who once hosted 12 boys from Ridgeway Rovers, Essex, while youth manager at Norwich City - including football superstar David Beckham - died following the road traffic collision yesterday at 9.45am (Monday, January 7).

The collision happened on the A1303 in the village of Bottisham, five miles from Cambridge.

Police said a man had died following the single-vehicle accident and he was declared dead a short time after the arrival of emergency services.

At Peterborough Crown Court it was explained that the car involved had been registered to Carson and the person who died was the appropriate age and had in his possession identification documents in the name of Carson.

The court also heard the 75-year-old’s widow had identified his body.

Michael Carson's trial had been due to officially start on Monday at 10am at Peterbrough Crown Court - just 15 minutes after he died in the car crash.

He was due to stand trial over multiple sexual assault charges alleged to have happened between 1978 and 2009.

The alleged victims have been informed and efforts are being made to contact all the witnesses.

Carson's car appeared to have veered off a straight stretch of the road on the outskirts of the village heading away from Cambridge towards Newmarket.

It crossed a short grass verge before striking a large tree at its base.

A patch of bark had been stripped from the base of the tree, around two feet from the ground.

Judge Matthew Lowe instructed that the file on the case be closed.

While working at Norwich City Carson tried to sign footballer David Beckham for the club it also emerged today.

Carson joined Norwich City as youth manager in 1983, staying at the club for a decade.

In 1987, he hosted 12 boys - including Beckham - from Ridgeway Rovers, Essex.

Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press newspaper in 2002, Carson said: “The 12 boys came and they stayed at a youth hostel in Norwich.

"We trained every day at Trowse, and I enlisted the help of two young players, Robert Ullathorne and Jason Minnett.”

While working at the club, Carson worked with children aged nine to 16, training future Premier League stars Chris Sutton and Ruel Fox.

Carson also told the newspaper: “In general, these Essex lads were a nightmare, complete scallywags, but one boy stood out unbelievably as an absolute gem, both on and off the ball, and that was David Beckham."</s>A youth soccer coach accused of sexually abusing 11 boys was killed in a car crash the day before he was set to stand trial, according to reports.

Michael “Kit” Carson, 75, was driving his Mazda 3 when it slammed into a tree at 9:45 a.m. Monday in Bottisham in East Cambridgeshire, England, BBC News reported citing police.

Prosecutor Jeremy Benson informed Peterborough Crown Court of Carson’s death on Tuesday, when the alleged sexual predator was to begin trial.

“The defendant died yesterday morning,” Benson told Judge Matthew Lowe, who closed the case against Carson.

The ex-coach — who worked for Peterborough United, Cambridge United and Norwich City football clubs — was charged with 11 counts of indecent assault and one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity involving boys under 16 years old.

The alleged incidents happened between 1978 and 2009. Carson had pleaded not guilty and was free on bail.

It’s unclear whether he intentionally drove his car off the road and into the tree. No other vehicles or people were involved in the crash.</s>A former youth football coach and scout accused of sexually abusing 11 boys under the age of 16 has died in a car crash just a day before he was due to face trial.

Michael Sean Carson, known as "Kit", 74, stood accused of 12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Carson, from Cambridge, was charged with the alleged offences at Cambridge Crown Court last year after being arrested in January 2017.

But today (January 8) as his trial was due to open it emerged that the defendant had died in a car crash yesterday (January 7).

At Peterborough Crown Court, prosecutor Jeremy Benson said: "The position is that the defendant died yesterday morning.

"He was involved in a road traffic collision at a bout 4.45 yesterday morning.

"No other vehicles were involved and there is an investigation being carried out and therefore I don't propose to go into any other detail."

The alleged offences happened from 1978 to 2009 and involved 11 boys under the age of 16.

Mr Carson's bail conditions included not coaching football or being involved in the scouting process.

Carson, who denied the charges, was previously worked at Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United.

He also worked extensively in Finland where he began coaching youth teams in 2012, taking UK youth teams on competitive tours of the country.

The trial was due to be presided over by Judge Matthew Lowe.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Constabulary said: "Police have identified a man who died following a single-vehicle crash on the A1303 at Bottisham yesterday morning (January 7).

"Michael Carson, 75, of St Bartholomew’s Court, Cambridge, was driving his red Mazda 3 at about 9.45am when it left the road and crashed into a tree.

"Emergency services attempted to save Mr Carson’s life but he was declared dead at the scene a short time later.

"No other vehicle or person was involved in the collision.

"Mr Carson was due to stand trial at Peterborough Crown Court, beginning yesterday, on multiple sexual assault charges alleged to have happened between 1978 and 2009.

"The victims have been informed and efforts are being made to contact all the witnesses.

"Anyone who saw the collision or has dash cam footage should call 101, quoting incident 100 of 7 January."</s>Michael “Kit” Carson, a former youth soccer coach, died in a car crash Monday -- the same day he was slated to stand trial on sexual abuse charges.

Carson, of the Riverside area of Cambridge, England, was accused of sexually abusing boys under the age of 16 from 1978 to 2009. The 75-year-old man was charged with “12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity,” Sky News reported.

In an earlier hearing, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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On Monday, Carson was killed after his car hit a tree, police said. He died at the scene and no other vehicle or person was involved. His wife, Pauline, identified his body, the BBC reported.

Judge Matthew Lowe of the Peterborough Crown Court ruled the case be closed following Carson’s death.

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Carson formerly coached for Cambridge United, Norwich City and Peterborough United soccer clubs.
Former youth football coach Michael "Kit" Carson is killed in a car crash on the day he was due to stand trial for multiple counts of sexually abusing minors. The trial subsequently ended without a verdict.