The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pensioner spared jail over fatal crash
An elderly motorist has been spared jail after admitting causing death by dangerous driving after his car crashed into a coffee shop on Christmas Eve, killing a customer.
David Lord, 87, wrongly pressed the accelerator on his Audi A4 and careered into a Costa Coffee shop where Valerie Deakin, 74, was sitting with her eldest daughter and best friend.
Mother-of-two Mrs Deakin, who lived in the village of Udimore, near Rye, East Sussex, died at the scene in High Street, Westerham, Kent, following the crash at around 10.30am on December 24 2015.
Five other people who were injured in the crash were taken to hospital.
Lord, of Croydon Road, Westerham, previously pleaded not guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, but changed his plea last November.
At Maidstone Crown Court yesterday, Lord was sentenced to 22 months in jail, suspended for two years, a police spokesman said.
He was ordered to pay costs of £1,500, disqualified from driving for five years and will have to take an extended test if he wants to drive again, police added.
Sergeant Glyn Walker said following the case: “David Lord’s car was rigorously checked by experts for any defects, but there were none.
“We believe he simply lost control of the vehicle by wrongly pressing the accelerator, causing it to leave the road at speed and with tragic consequences.”