A woman suffered horrific injuries – and has been left unable to walk – after she was suddenly hit by a car as she was crossing a road at night.
She suffered a “completely shattered” pelvis and needed surgery after the accident. The woman also suffered a fractured left ankle and shin bone and she was in hospital for about five months. She had been told that she would not walk again and she was now very much bed-bound, Hull Crown Court heard.
Anthony Whitehouse, 73, of Nunnery Walk, South Cave, admitted causing serious injury to the woman by careless driving on March 21 last year. Holly Thompson, prosecuting, said that a woman walked to a Go Local shop in Anlaby Road, west Hull, at about 8pm, a trip that she did once, if not twice, a day. “When traffic was busy, she would use the crossing on Anlaby Road,” said Miss Thompson.
However, on that day, she decided to cross the road directly, without using any crossing, from the end of Glencoe Street. At the time, it was dark, with bright street lighting, and dry, with good visibility.
Before crossing, she looked to her right and saw that traffic lights further up the road, near the Griffin pub, were on red so she began to cross the road. She saw a car in the distance near an Iceland shop and thought she would have enough time to cross safely.
There was a collision between her and a blue Ford Focus, driven by Whitehouse. “The next thing she recalled was lying on the road, unable to move, an ambulance arriving and speaking to medical staff,” said Miss Thompson.
Police arrived at about 8.56pm and saw that the car had hit a bollard and mounted a nearby kerb. The woman was lying on the eastbound carriageway at the time.
A roadside breath sample and a drugs swipe on Whitehouse were negative. He told police that he was travelling westbound at 25mph on Anlaby Road and the next thing he saw was the woman near to the white line so he swerved.
The woman was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary where her injuries were found to include a “completely shattered” fractured pelvis, which needed surgery. She also suffered a fractured left ankle and shin bone as well as bruising around her left eye and forehead.
Complications with infections and sepsis meant that she was taken to the urgent care ward, needing surgery. She was in hospital for about five months before being taken to Holy Name Rehabilitation Centre for physiotherapy in the hope of being able to help her with walking.
By September 20, however, she was unable to walk and needed hoisting to and from her bed. “She was able to return home to her daughter’s property in October but required extensive medical assistance, including obtaining an adapted wheelchair,” said Miss Thompson.
“She has been told by professionals that she will not walk again.”
An update on the woman’s condition was that she was still unable to walk and needed the use of an adapted wheelchair. She was still very much bed-bound.
Whitehouse told the police that he was an experienced driver and his employment had always revolved around driving, including being an HGV driver for more than 40 years and then a taxi driver for four years. He later worked driving NHS carers to clients around the Hull area. The car was in good condition, with no known defects.
He was travelling east and maintained that he was doing around 25mph at the time and that, after he saw a figure on the offside at the point of impact, he swerved to the nearside and hit the woman with the offside of his car. He said that the only time that he saw her was when he made contact with her.
Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, mitigating, said that Whitehouse recognised the significant impact of the injuries on the woman but no amount of apologies from him would change the effect of the accident on the woman and her family.
He had a background of driving for about 50 years and he had never had an accident before. He pleaded guilty, made admissions and had no previous convictions.
Whitehouse was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and he was banned from driving for a year.