A retired doctor who stood accused of causing a pensioner’s death by careless driving has been acquitted by a judge who concluded a police probe into the tragedy was very poor.
Dr Roger Williams, 71, was brought to court following a collision, at a puffin crossing in central Brampton, between his Ford C-Max and former secondary school art teacher Penny Bains.
Ms Bains, 72, died as a result of complications from injuries sustained in the late afternoon incident on December 20 2018, which occurred in dark and rainy conditions.
She had still been crossing the road in dark clothing as crossing lights changed from red to green.
Dr Williams denied causing Ms Bains’ death by careless driving and was due to stand trial earlier this week.
But the case against him collapsed — and he was found not guilty — after a judge heard legal submissions from case counsel.
A prosecutor sought to include a visual collision reconstruction in trial evidence. However, Dr Williams’ legal team objected, contending it had the potential to mislead a jury and, as such, would have an adverse effect on the fairness of court proceedings.
The reconstruction featured dry and clear conditions with clear visibility, in contrast to those on 20th December, 2018. In addition, a police actor using the crossing to replicate Ms Bains’s journey bore no physical resemblance to her; and non-fixed background fixtures behind Ms Bains were not the same as those in the reconstruction.
Judge Nicholas Barker concluded it was a step too far to ask a jury to be sure Dr Williams would have been able to see Ms Bains.
Dr Williams had said after the incident: “I just didn’t see her. I don’t know why not but I didn’t.”
Having struck out the reconstruction evidence, Judge Barker also branded the police investigation into the collision as very poor.
A failure to obtain CCTV footage from a Co-op store near the collision scene led to this evidence being lost. And production of statements by attending officers nine to 11 months after the event, stated the judge, “undermines their credibility on significant points in evidence”.
Judge Barker further ruled the evidence of a collision expert — and that of a PC — should be excluded due to further internal failings as it would have such an adverse effect upon the fairness for the proceedings.
His ruling prompted the prosecution to offer no evidence in the case, resulting in the acquittal of Dr Williams, of Hethersgill.
