Driver ignored road closure and hit run marshal
WOMAN WAS DESPERATE TO GET HOME TO HER SON, JURY HEARS
A MUM struck a marshal with her wing mirror and drove through a tape barrier on a road which had been closed during a popular running race.
Nadine Osbourne ignored warnings by a marshal that she couldn’t drive on roads during the Great North 10K run in Gateshead.
A marshal outside the Jury’s Inn hotel was approached by Osbourne on foot on July 7, 2019, asking when the road would be reopened.
Newcastle Crown Court heard she was told it would stay shut until the race was finished.
She then went back to the hotel, got in her car and ignored the fact the road was closed – as she was keen to get home to her disabled son, who she had been told was choking.
Vince Ward, prosecuting, said: “Despite the marshal’s efforts to stop her, she drove and had to mount the kerb to avoid a traffic cone placed there to indicate the road was closed.
“There were still runners in the race at the time.
“She was seen at different parts of the course by other marshals and a spectator.”
One marshal, Kathryn Lindsley, saw the car approach her station and stood in the middle of the carriageway to indicate for her to stop.
Mr Ward said: “The defendant ignored that direction and drove through a tape barrier attached to cones. The defendant drove so close to her, the wing mirror struck her on the elbow.”
Miss Lindsley said in a victim impact statement: “I’ve never come so close to being seriously injured as I did that day. It really rattled me.”
She said the bruising and swelling went down but the psychological impact has stayed with her and she feels angry and confused.
Miss Lindsley said: “Since the day I was nearly seriously injured there are few days that pass when I don’t recall in vivid detail what happened and just how close I came.
“I’ve got increased levels of stress when crossing roads.
“I really am still coming to terms with what you did and I run ‘what if’ scenario.
“That day still haunts me.” Osbourne, 39, of Leahurst Road, West Bridgford, Notthingham, who has a previous conviction for drink driving from 2009, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was sentenced to nine months suspended for two years with 180 hours’ unpaid work and an 18-month driving ban.
Mr Justice Lavender told her: “You ignored signs and warnings the road was closed and drove on the road, where runners were still taking part in the race.
“You hit a marshal with your wing mirror and narrowly missed two others. “You deliberately ignored warnings and a tape barrier, through which you drove.
“You made off after committing the offence.
“Your judgement was impaired by your concern for your son. You are his sole carer.”
David Callan, defending, said she had left her disabled son, who has respiratory issues and autism, for the first time to come to Newcastle for a break and got a phone call from the babysitter saying he was choking and coughing on some food.
Mr Callan said: “Her efforts to get back to Nottingham may not have been effective as it’s a three-hour drive but she panicked and her phone had run out of charge and she was desperate to get home to see her son.”
Your judgement was impaired by your concern for your son. You are his sole carer. Mr Justice Lavender