Driver aged 74 knocked down and killed a man on a Bassetlaw zebra crossing

Margaret Atkinson admitted causing Steven Fowler's death by careless driving when she appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Steven Fowler, aged 44, was walking his dog with his father and was crossing Wharf Road, when he was struck by a blue Renault Megane, just before 7pm on February 14 last year.

He suffered severe head injuries and was taken to hospital where he died two days later, said prosecutor Freddie Sail.

Atkinson tested negative for drink and drugs, but she failed an eyesight test for legally driving a vehicle.

CCTV footage showed 2.5 seconds passed after Mr Fowler stepped on to the crossing but Atkinson didn't break until 1.4 seconds after she hit him.

She later told police she didn't see anyone and only became aware of the impact when she heard and felt a bump.

A police investigator said Mr Fowler would have been visible as it was 'one of the most brightly-lit pedestrian crossings I have ever encountered’.

"I am at a loss to explain how she couldn't see Mr Fowler before the impact," he said.

Police found her rear offside tyre was under-inflated and an offside brake light wasn't working, but neither defect would have contributed to the collision, said Mr Sail.

"To say it was momentary inattention would not do this case justice," he said. "This wasn't a case where he stepped out in front of the vehicle."

Chris Perry, mitigating, described the defendant as 'a credible, honest and decent person', with no previous convictions, who has held a clean driving licence for 39 years.

He argued the accident happened because of 'momentary inattention' while she was travelling at 13 mph. He said Atkinson, of Big Lane, Clarborough, is a widower whose husband was killed in the line of duty as a policeman.

"She failed to react quickly enough,” Mr Perry said. “She meant no harm. She does not have the same cognition she had."

Magistrates decided ‘material differences’ between the prosecution and defence accounts would affect sentencing. The case was adjourned until February 15 for a district judge to make a ruling and an interim driving ban was imposed.