Elderly driver cleared in court after tragic collision near Rugby which killed a motorcyclist

Mavis Witts was alleged to have caused the death of 51-year-old Stephen Ferguson on Easter Sunday, April 21, last year on the A45 near Rugby by careless driving.

But after hearing about the new finding of the speed Mr Ferguson was doing on his BMW S1000 RR motorbike, a judge told Mrs Witts there was no suggestion she did anything wrong.

The tragic collision between the bike and her Renault Kangoo took place on the A45 at the crossroads with Longdown Lane and Woolscott Road near Willoughby at shortly after 4pm.

Mr Ferguson, from Long Lawford, Rugby, was rushed to hospital where he sadly died.

Witts (83) of Vicarage Road, Flecknoe, near Daventry, had not been required to attend when the case was first listed at Warwick Crown Court during the lockdown.

But her barrister Michael Rawlinson said the main issue in the case would be ‘the capability of the motorcyclist to be seen,’ which he said was ‘directly related to his speed.’

He added that the defence had instructed a collision investigator, but at that time he had not been able to inspect the scene or the vehicles because of the Covid-19 restrictions.

At the resumed hearing, Mrs Witts entered a not guilty plea to the charge, which was accepted by prosecutor Hugh O’Brien-Quinn, who said he would offer no evidence against her.

Mr O’Brien-Quinn explained: “The allegation is one of causing death by careless driving.

“The deceased was on a motorbike which collided with the defendant’s car as she crossed a major road.

“There is a joint report from the defence expert and the police expert which has concluded that the deceased was driving at in excess of 100mph on his motorbike.

“When she looked, he would have been so far away that she concluded it would be safe [to pull out], and had he been doing the speed limit, she would have been able to do so.”

But dashcam footage obtained by the defence from another car had enabled their expert to establish the speed the bike was doing – which was more than double the 50mph speed limit.

Of the decision to offer no evidence against Mrs Witts, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano observed: “This is no kind of technicality, you are saying that she is entirely innocent of this charge.”

And entering a not guilty verdict, she told Mrs Witts: “You may not get an apology from anyone else, so you are going to get one from me.

“It would be very distressing to be involved in such a collision, and to then get suggestions it was your fault, when it is perfectly clear that it is not, must be even more distressing.

“There is no suggestion at all that you did anything wrong. It could have happened to anyone.”