Drunk driver hit boy, 5, after running red light

Hayley Walker leaves Livingston Sheriff Court. Picture: Vic Rodrick

Hayley Walker injured the youngster in Stoneyburn Main Street, West Lothian, on September 7 last year.

At Livingston Sheriff Court the 22-year-old was banned from driving “ad interim” and told she will be sentenced later.

Walker, of Starlaw Walk, Bathgate, changed her plea to guilty on the morning of her trial yesterday.

She admitted driving dangerously while she was nearly twice the drink-drive limit. The court was told a breath test showed she had 60 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

The legal limit at the time was 35 microgrammes, although that has since been reduced to 22 microgrammes.

She also pleaded guilty to driving a car dangerously, failing to keep a proper lookout, failing to comply with traffic signals at a pedestrian crossing, and colliding with a pedestrian, causing him to fall to the ground to his injury.

Walker, who has no previous convictions, had sentence deferred for background reports by Sheriff Douglas Kinloch.

Catherine Knowles, prosecuting said the youngster Walker had struck with her car had spent the night in hospital for observation.

She said he had suffered minor bruising, but fortunately no significant or serious injuries.

Darryl Lovie, defending, said the late plea was the result of a refusal by Crown prosecutors to accept a guilty plea to the lesser charge of careless driving. He said: “It’s an incident which is perhaps on the borderline between the two.”

Sheriff Kinloch commented: “It’s not only a charge of drink-driving with quite a high reading but there’s a charge of dangerous driving where a young boy was knocked down at a pedestrian crossing and injured. It’s all quite serious, I’m afraid. I’ll need to get background reports.”

He told Walker: “It’s inevitable that you’ll be disqualified from driving.

“The length of the disqualification will be decided when all the information is before the court but it’s appropriate that the disqualification commences now.”

Walker will be sentenced on June 26.