Road maintenance chief fined for knocking down woman at crossing

THE manager of a road maintenance company who knocked down a 30-year old woman on a pedestrian crossing in the Capital was today fined £500 and had six points added to his licence.

Thomas Deans, 43, a manager for Bear Scotland, pleaded guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to driving without due care and attention at the junction of North and South Bridge with the Royal Mile on 2 February this year and colliding with Lee-Anne Ewing, causing her to fall to the ground to her injury.

Fiscal Depute, Dev Kapadia, told Sheriff Janice Scott, that a bus driver saw the traffic lights at the junction turning red, slowed down and stopped.

Ms Ewing saw the green man flashing and began to cross in front of the bus. The bus driver then became aware of a red car passing the bus and not appearing to be stopping. The car, being driven by Deans, hit Ms Ewing.

Deans, of Goldenacre Terrace, Edinburgh, stopped his car and went to see to the woman. He and other people helped her to the side of the road and called for an ambulance. Deans wrote his details on a napkin and handed it to Ms Ewing and then drove off.

The Fiscal said Ms Ewing was treated for a minor cut to her right knee and right eyebrow at the Royal Infirmary.

Defence agent, Bruce Goodbrand, said Deans had dropped his children off at school and nursery just after 8am.

It was snowing and the white lines at the junction had been obliterated. A bus in front of him moved into the left hand lane as it approached the South Bridge. Deans said the bus was slowing and as he drew level with the front of it he became aware of a pedestrian walking out in front of it.

"He realised he was at a crossing and stopped immediately, but there was contact with the pedestrian". Mr Goodbrand added: "He says with the benefit of hindsight the bus on the left hand side was obscuring the lights and another bus travelling in the opposite direction was obscuring the lights on the right hand side".

His client, he said, had reported himself to the police with his documentation. Deans, he said, travelled between 30,000 and 40,000 miles a year on business. He had a special interest in motoring matters and understood that traffic management legislation suggested that pedestrian crossings should be cited further away from junctions.

The crossings at the Bridges were very close to the junction.

The lawyer said the accident was "at the lower end of the spectrum of careless driving".