Lorry crash driver walks free
A lorry driver who collided head-on with a car in Wolverhampton and caused a pedestrian serious injuries has escaped prosecution after the case was dropped.
A charge of driving without due care and attention has been withdrawn against 42-year-old Neil Hilditch by the Crown Prosecution Service after lawyers spent nine months preparing the case. Hilditch's lorry crashed into a VW Polo in Tettenhall Road outside the Shell petrol station at 5.30am last November 3, sending the car into a spin and hitting a passer-by.
The victim, a man in his 30s, had been walking past the garage when he was struck. He suffered serious head and leg injuries and was treated at New Cross Hospital.
Hilditch's lorry was left embedded in a wall after demolishing a bus stop, while the 26-year-old driver of the Polo suffered a broken leg and was trapped for 45 minutes.
Hilditch was due to stand trial at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court yesterday.
A last-minute bid by the CPS to change the charge to one of speeding was rejected and a request by the prosecution for an adjournment was refused by the magistrates, leading to the original charge being withdrawn.
Hilditch, of Dentdale Close, Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, who suffered facial injuries in the crash, walked free.
In court yesterday, Melanie Hughes, for the CPS, said: "There was to be an application to change the charge to speeding. The defence is going to submit that the Crown has run out of time, but we don't think we have.
"We need an adjournment so we can confirm exactly when the information was sent out."
Keith Miller, defending Hilditch, said: "We will be opposing this. It was back on June 12 when we had a first hearing, and back then we indicated a not guilty plea.
"This alleged offence was back on November 3. The latest information was only served yesterday, one day before the trial."
Magistrates decided that the case should go ahead on the day, upon which the CPS withdrew the prosecution.
