'Momentary' lapse of concentration led to road tragedy, court told

Mr Kewal Singh Dhesi was walking slowly with a stick and trying to cross the road when tragedy struck, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

"He was thrown into the air and died from the injuries he received," revealed Mr Walter Bealby, prosecuting.

The 53-year-old defendant, Daniel Straker, was 'flashed' through by another motorist, allowing him to turn right across oncoming traffic from Parkfield Road into Myatt Avenue, Ettingshall, just before the impact, it was said.

Miss Lisa Deeley, who witnessed the incident while driving home from work along Myatt Avenue in the opposite direction, told the jury: "I saw the gentleman crossing about five car lengths in front of me when the van turned into the road. As I approached the junction the gentleman disappeared. I looked to the side of me and saw him being tossed into the gutter. the impact threw him back towards the kerb he had come from."

Mr Gurdeep Garcha, defending, suggested during cross examination that Mr Dhesi had not started crossing the road before the van turned into Myatt Avenue but she insisted that he had.

Police and paramedics were called and Mr Dhesi was certified dead at the scene shortly after the accident that happened around 7pm on November 4, 2014.

Straker, who was alone in the white Mercedes Sprinter van, later told police he 'felt a bump' on turning into Myatt Avenue and immediately stopped.

"He maintained that the pedestrian must have stepped off the pavement into his path and is adamant that nobody was crossing Myatt Avenue when he started to make the turn," explained Mr Bealby.

Pc Mark Weaver, a forensic vehicle accident examiner, said the circumstances of the incident were 'consistent with the pedestrian being struck while the van was making the turn'.

Mr Bealby alleged: "There is a duty for a driver to make sure there is nobody in the way. We say that the concentration of this driver momentarily lapsed as he drove round the bend, possibly because he had been 'flashed' through, as the pedestrian slowly crossed Myatt Avenue with what turned out to be fatal consequences.

"We say he had been in the road for around four seconds before being struck and that as the defendant turned right he failed to look, or, if he did look, failed to see the pedestrian."

Straker from Graiseley Lane, Wednesfield, denies causing death by careless driving and the trial continues.