Runaway car killed seafront jogger after driver fell out while parking
Motorist, 68, spared prison after court told that hitting accelerator instead of brake caused death of man, 70
A SEAFRONT jogger was killed by a car after its owner fell out of it while trying to reverse park, a court heard.
Supermarket worker Gillian Richings, 68, was leaning out of the open door of her new car when she accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the driver’s door to hit a lamp-post and drag her from the vehicle.
The semi-automatic Vauxhall Zafira then continued moving at speed and hit David Harris, 70, who was out for a morning jog on the beach promenade in Swanage, Dorset, on April 2. The father-of-one
‘It’s been so upsetting, a completely devastating ordeal. For me the sentence is too lenient’
was pinned underneath the runaway people carrier.
Members of the public lifted the vehicle off him, and emergency workers including an air ambulance crew went to the scene. However, Mr Harris, a former railway signalling engineer, died from head injuries.
Poole magistrates’ court heard Richings had bought the semi-automatic Vauxhall Zafira about a month before the incident and had not driven an automatic car for about 10 years.
Richings admitted causing death by driving without due care and attention, but was spared a prison sentence. She was instead ordered to complete 120 hours of community service, handed a 12-month ban from driving and £150 fine plus £85 in costs. Speaking after the hearing, Mr Harris’s widow, Rosemary, said the sentence did not reflect the devastation felt by her family.
“It’s been so upsetting, a completely devastating ordeal I can barely bring myself to talk about,” she said.
“For me the sentence is too lenient, he was just out jogging on the beach.
“It’s been a huge ordeal and the court case was so difficult to go through. I don’t know if more attention needs to be paid to driverless cars because I can’t bring myself to think about what has happened.”
Desmond Reynolds, mitigating, said Richings had made a “terrible error” in not turning off her engine and bringing the car out of reverse before leaning out to check its position in the road. He also offered her “profound and public apology” to Mr Harris’s family and friends.
Mr Reynolds said: “She particularly apologises to Rosemary Harris, who has suffered a terrible loss.
“She had owned her semi-automatic car for around a month. She had driven an automatic before, but not for at least 10 years.” Richings, from Swanage, who was issued with her driving licence in 1986, had no points on her licence.
In a victim impact statement read out in court Mrs Harris spoke of the “hate and anger” she felt for “the woman who killed my husband and has never apologised”. She added: “How can I begin to explain my overwhelming, devastating, heartbroken feelings?
“He was my husband, my best friend and my constant companion. We were really happy and looking forward to a happy future together.
“She has taken all that away from us and destroyed our lives and future.”