Mencap volunteer coach driver, 57, of Newark, handed 12-month community order for causing death of 61-year-old mother who stepped in road without looking
A coach driver was given a 12-month community order at Nottingham Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to causing a death by careless driving.
Nicholas Hird, 57, of Harcourt Street, Newark, caused the death of 61-year-old Angela Dowd last year when taking children from a nearby school on a trip.
The court heard Mrs Dowd's sudden death was caused by momentary driver inattention when she crossed a road without looking and, was subsequently struck.
The incident happened on June 18 of last year when Hird approached the junction of Bowbridge Road and Sherwood Avenue on London Road, Newark.
As the defendant drove towards the crossing at around 9.40am, the court heard, he saw the lights were still green and spotted a woman on his right approaching the pedestrian crossing.
James Thomas, prosecuting, said Mrs Dowd stepped into the road without looking despite the pedestrian light being red against her.
"Mr Hird said he looked at the lights before reaching the keep clear signs on the road and, when he last looked, they were green," said Mr Thomas.
"He was going at 30mph, which was the speed limit, and reduced his speed to 22mph when he approached the crossing.
"It was apparent from the evidence that Mrs Dowd misread the road and traffic conditions, and this was a cause.
"But it was the lack of attention and driving, which fell below standard, that caused the death of the woman.
"There was insufficient time to stop and the accident was unavoidable."
Mrs Dowd died almost immediately from her head injuries from the collision, the court was told, and she had not used her mobile phone at the time of the incident.
Hird often volunteered to drive for the learning disability charity Mencap, the court heard, and had no previous convictions. He also provided a negative breath test at the scene.
Chris Brewin, mitigating, stated the defendant had been driving coaches for 17 years and attended a course in 2015 to maintain high driving standards.
"Mr Hird was carrying out a school run which he had done many times and requires special attention. It was momentary inattention," said Mr Brewin.
"He attended the police station and gave a full interview, expressed his remorse for what happened and acknowledged driver error from the beginning.
"He has suffered nightmares and flashbacks. He is deeply sorry and like a lot of people, he wishes he could turn back time and undo what happened."
When sentenced, Hird was told he must carry out 180 hours of unpaid work as part of his community order, and was disqualified from driving for 15 months.
Victim impact statements from Mrs Dowd's daughters were read out to the court which detailed the trauma of being told of the incident.
"She described being emotionally tortured by her mother's death," the court was told. "Another stated one of her grandchildren had expressed suicidal thoughts after her death."
Judge Sally Hancox, sentencing, said Hird's vehicle was in good working order and was not speeding when he approached the junction.
"There was momentary inattention on your part," she said. "The crossing light was still against her and this indicated to me that she did not look to her left before crossing.
"The momentary inattention has caused the unending consequences that two families will feel."
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