Personal Injury Lancashire
A woman who knocked down and killed a pensioner the morning after downing seven bottles of beer has been found guilty of causing death by drink-driving.
Antonio Ricci, 79, died after Charlotte Roberts hit him with her Peugeot in an early-morning accident at Finney Lane, Heald Green, Stockport.
She failed a breathalyser test at the scene and it later emerged she was one-and-a-half times the limit at the time of the crash.
Roberts, a 34-year-old office worker, denied causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit in a Manchester Crown Court trial.
She said there was ‘absolutely nothing’ she could have done to prevent the ‘devastating’ crash, denying that the alcohol in her system had affected her at the wheel.
The jury heard she had drunk the 330ml bottles of lager as she wound down after a day’s work, but had relatively little sleep or food.
The defendant’s mother, who was in the car with her at the time, said her daughter was a very good driver, claiming she hadn’t seen Mr Ricci either.
However, the jury rejected Roberts’ claims of being fit to drive and returned a unanimous guilty verdict. Roberts slumped in the dock and cradled her head in her hands after the verdict was returned.
Judge Martin Steiger QC adjourned the case until May to allow pre-sentence and psychological reports to be prepared.
Granting Roberts bail, he said: "You mustn’t suppose that any particular sentence is in prospect for what is a most serious offence."
Roberts had been taking her mother for their usual morning swim and was observing the speed limit when the crash happened, the court heard.
She told a paramedic at the scene that she had ‘just clipped him’ with her wing mirror, but the court heard there was ‘severe damage’ to the front of the car, with a bullseye-type pattern of cracks on the windscreen.
Mr Ricci, from Heald Green and described as ‘fit and active’, died in hospital 12 days after the accident in November 2010.
Following the trial, Mr Ricci’s daughter, Lucia Delkhoshnavaz, said: "We were incredibly close and his death has left a void that can never be filled. I just hope that those irresponsible enough to consider driving after they have had excess alcohol will think again after seeing this decision."
source: menmedia.co.uk
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