Woman guilty of causing death by careless driving
SHE WAS ON PHONE MOMENTS BEFORE SCOOTER COLLISION
A WOMAN has been found guilty of causing death by careless driving after a crash on the A46.
The collision occurred on the southbound carriageway at Flintham just before 9pm on December 11, 2019.
Natasha Labidi, 40, of Anson Road in Newton, denied causing the death of John Aves by driving her BMW without due care and attention.
Mr Aves was hit from behind by Labidi’s car just before 9pm, before being taken to Queen’s Medical Centre, where he died around two hours later.
CCTV footage showed him leaving the Fox Inn pub car park in Kelham, Newark, just before the crash happened
A tearful Labidi was asked about a hands-free phone conversation with her children in the moments leading up to the collision.
She told the court: “I don’t think it had any impact. I was concentrating – it was a normal conversation.”
Ian Way, prosecuting, asked her: “But was it likely to distract your attention from the road?”
“I don’t know,” she answered. “I suppose it depends on the situation. There’s a lot of factors. I don’t think it affected my driving in a negative way at all. I was driving carefully and I was paying attention.”
The phone conversation lasted for 11 minutes and 30 seconds and Labidi says she ended iti mmediately after the crash.
Asked if she accepted responsibility for Mr Aves’ death, she said: “I accept that I was there and it was a horrible accident.
“But I honestly believe that there was nothing more that I could have done at that time. I did everything I could to avoid him.
“Obviously it happened but I don’t accept that I wasn’t driving carefully. If I thought it was my fault I would hold up my hands and plead guilty.
“I understand that because of what happened that he’s no longer here. But I don’t accept it was my fault or that I should be completely blamed for it.”
The court previously heard from another driver, who was driving just ahead of Labidi, that he had to swerve into the fast lane to avoid contact with the scooter, which had a maximum speed of 28mph.
Delivering his closing arguments Mr Way said: “The most compelling piece of evidence is the car in front of Ms Labidi did see him [Mr Aves] and took action.
“Another driver was confronted with exactly the same circumstances as her at that time. This evidence clearly leads to a collision that should not be happening if she were paying proper attention to the conditions and circumstances of the road at that time.”
In mitigation, Caroline Abraham said: “She told this court she was engaged in a conversation in her vehicle and there was nothing unusual about this call, that she maintained proper concentration and that she was paying attention to the road and driving within the speed limit.
“There was no suggestion of bad driving and she maintains she was not careless.”
Delivering his verdict, District Judge Leo Pyle said: “The defendant simply did not pay safe attention to the road.
“Had she done so, she would have seen the scooter as the vehicle ahead of her did.
“She drove below what would have been expected of her as a competent driver. I’m satisfied she drove carelessly and caused the death of John Aves.”
Mr Aves was found to have eight milligrammes of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system, far below the legal limit for alcohol.
No alcohol was found in Labidi’s system after she was tested by police and she was driving within the speed limit. Labidi will appear again at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on February 10 for sentencing.
In the meantime, she has been served an interim disqualification which bans her from driving any motorised vehicle on the road.
She drove below what would have been expected of a competent driver Judge Leo Pyle