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19
Jan
Man, 89, suffers broken leg after Pannal crash
An 89-year-old man sustained a broken leg after being hit by a car in Pannal.
Susan Whitehurst, 67, appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (January 15) charged with one offence of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving.
She admitted the offence.
Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, told the court the named victim caught the train from York to Pannal with his step-son on October 18 last year as he was visiting his daughter.
The man and his stepson got off the train just after 10am that day and walked over a bridge towards the car park.
In a statement read to the court, the victim said he and his stepson had to cross Station Road to reach the car park where his daughter was waiting.
He added:
I checked to make sure it was safe to cross. I could see the lights were on red on the left side. There was nothing coming on my right side and I could see my daughter waiting [in the car park].
The victim also said he could see a Range Rover - Whitehurst’s car - but it was stationary and was not indicating, so he thought it was safe to cross the road.
The man got about half-way across the road when he was struck by the Range Rover on his right side.
“I was in terrible pain”, the statement added.
The victim spent 12 days in hospital and suffered a broken right tibia and bruising.
Ms Tyrer told the court the victim remembers hearing Whitehurst say after the collision she “did not even see him”.
The victim's step-son corroborated his story, the court heard, and said the Range Rover was “not there before” they started crossing the road.
Police were called to the scene and breathalysed Whitehurst, but there was no alcohol in her system.
The defendant told police she "had not seen" the victim.
CCTV footage of the collision was played in court. Whitehurst’s Range Rover could be seen stationary in the car park, before it turns right at the junction and collides with the victim.
Ms Tyrer described the incident as a “momentary lapse of concentration”, which has had “long term” effects on the victim’s daily life.
Whitehurst has no previous convictions.
‘Clearly a momentary lapse’
Arlegh Davies, defending, conceded the offence was “clearly a momentary lapse” of concentration.
She added:
When you have an 89-year-old, any kind of break can be very serious.
Ms Davies also said Whitehurst, of Weeton Lane in Harewood, was “keen” to resolve the case as soon as possible and had already surrended her driving licence.
She did not add any further mitigation.
The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
Whitehurst will return to Harrogate Magistrates Court on March 27 for sentence.
She was disqualified from driving in the interim.
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