Friday, November 22, 2024

‘I’ve killed my friend,’ exclaimed woman when she ran over elderly neighbour

Must read

Avorga denied causing death by careless driving but was convicted of the charge after a four-day trial at the Old Bailey.

The social worker sobbed in the dock as Judge Alexia Durran imposed a suspended sentence.

The judge said: “I accept you were genuinely remorseful. You present a low risk of harm to the public.

“You and your family will have to live with the consequences of this.”

Charlotte Hole, prosecuting, told the court that the incident “was not captured on any CCTV and wasn’t seen by any witnesses”, but some neighbours heard screams and one came out to see what had happened.

“She could see Avorga’s car had stopped on a grass verge and was not parked normally,” Ms Hole said.

“Underneath the car, she could see a crutch and two legs.”

The court heard that Avorga was screaming hysterically and saying: “I tried to stop but she slid down and fell.”

She also wept, saying: “Oh my God, I’ve killed my friend.”

A post-mortem examination found that the cause of death was injuries to the head and torso.

The prosecutor said Mrs Emmett had priority as a pedestrian who had started to cross, so the driver should have given way.

Ms Hole said: “Had she stopped or at least passed so widely there was no possibility to come into contact, the collision would, we say, have been avoided.”

Avorga told the jury: “I had just turned in. I immediately realised she was in the road. I steered away to my left towards the grass verge to give her room to safely cross. I suddenly saw her turn slightly to her left.”

After returning their verdict to find her guilty of causing death by careless driving, the 12 jurors said in a note that the pedestrians were “risking their lives” because the access road does not have a pavement.

Avorga was given a four-month sentence, suspended for a year, and banned from the road for three years.

 

Latest article