A Penrith woman has wept in court after she was acquitted of a charge which had alleged her careless driving caused the death of a pensioner following a collision at a town road junction.
Susan Strong, 49, went on trial at Carlisle Crown Court this week after being prosecuted following the incident on October 14, 2019.
Mrs Strong, a woman of good character with a clean driving licence, was travelling south along Penrith’s Victoria Road in a white Alfa Romeo.
She slowed when approaching red traffic lights, continued moving after they changed to green and then later told police she briefly glanced left to check a northbound access road she knew was often used by motorists as a cut through.
But as she began her turn into Southend Road, 77-year-old pedestrian Kathleen Boddy was stepping on to a pedestrian crossing. Two collision investigators concluded by that point, a collision captured on leisure centre CCTV was almost inevitable.
Shocked witnesses described seeing the impact, at which point Mrs Strong was travelling at a speed of around 21mph, which was deemed appropriate by the collision experts.
Mrs Boddy was taken to hospital, underwent brain surgery but died four days later as a result of her injuries.
Mrs Strong, of Pearson Court, Penrith, denied causing her death by careless driving.
She told police: “If I’d been aware of Mrs Boddy, if she’d been in my sight, in my vision, I would have stopped. But there was nothing, no warning that I could see her. I couldn’t see her.” She added: “To the lady’s family, I’m absolutely devastated, I really am.”
Jurors heard how, following the incident, changes were made to the pedestrian lights’ set-up at that particular junction as it was felt they had the potential to be confusing and misleading to those on foot.
The police collision expert accepted there were a number of hazards for drivers to assess when approaching the junction. But a driver’s priority, he concluded, should be the pedestrian crossing.
A defence expert, meanwhile, felt that finding was over-simplifying the incident. He concluded Mrs Strong was faced with a considerable driver workload and a plethora of things to deal with at a junction that might, he said, be deemed a forest of traffic lights and signs.
After the prosecution closed their case, defence barrister Kim Whittlestone submitted to Judge Nicholas Barker that there was insufficient evidence on which a jury could find Mrs Strong guilty.
After taking a short break, Judge Barker agreed and announced his ruling was that there was insufficient evidence.
At the judge’s direction, a jury foreman formally returned a verdict of not guilty and an emotional Mrs Strong was told she could leave the dock.
