A van driver accused of causing the deaths of two pedestrians by driving carelessly was heard screaming ‘what have I done?’ after the Carlisle city centre crash.
Two stunned sisters watched from a nearby bus as a Mercedes Sprinter was driven around a corner on to West Tower Street and into collision with Terence Abson and Georgina Lands as they walked over a pedestrian crossing.
Mr Abson, 62, was pronounced dead at the scene after an incident at 12.52pm on March 1, 2021. His 56-year-old partner Miss Lands died seven days later in hospital.
Marc Large, 49, is on trial at Carlisle Crown Court. He denies causing their deaths by careless driving.
As evidence began, jurors watched several CCTV clips which captured the incident. In one, Mr Abson and Miss Lands can be seen crossing the road, from Scotch Street, with a vehicle traffic light on amber as the van approached moments before impact.
Amy Rickerby, was several metres away. Hearing a vehicle accelerate and then a bang, she turned and walked toward the crossing before dialling 999.
Sisters Abbie and Nicole Fontana were on board a bus on the opposite side of the road, and saw the collision.
Hospital worker Abbie was two metres away. She saw Mr Abson and Miss Lands start to cross the road before the green man appeared.
“As they crossed the road they were looking down at the same phone which one of them was holding,” she said.
Abbie, who also heard an acceleration, remarked that the van was travelling at a normal speed. “There was nothing to do with the speed that caused me concern,” she said. “I can remember the driver was looking up because I could see his face quite clearly.
“The van then collided with Mr Abson and Miss Lands. Due to male one and female one looking at a phone they would not have seen the van coming.”
There was then a massive bang, she said. “I have never really heard a bang like this before. I started to feel sick,” said Abbie.
She heard the van driver say as he got out of his vehicle: “It’s not my fault.”
Nicole recalled that on the bus she noticed her sister’s face drop and a look of shock. She also felt sick, she said, and saw Large get out of the van. “I can remember him screaming ‘what have I done?’.” she said in her statement.
Another bystander, Rita Simpson, said from the witness box that she spoke to Large in the aftermath. “I remember him saying to me ‘I wasn’t speeding’,” she told the jury of nine men and three women. “Then he said ‘it’s someone’s mum and dad’.”
The prosecution allege that Large, of Gleneagles Road, Sunderland, had ample time and opportunity to pay attention to what was on the road ahead of him.
Motorcycle trader Large said in a prepared statement to police he was not distracted at the time, and that his mind was on his driving. “I really can’t explain how this collision occurred as I never saw the couple until a split second before I hit them,” he stated.
The trial continues.
