A 73-year-old motorist who failed to stop after a road accident in Milford Haven has been fined in court.
John Richards, of Herbrandston, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, to plead guilty to a charge of being the driver of a vehicle that failed to stop at an accident where personal injury was caused to another person and damage to another vehicle.
He also admitted driving his Seat Ibiza car without due care and attention on Dale Road where the accident occurred on October 14 of last year.
Prosecutor Ellie Morgan told the court that the victim, a Leigh Jameson, was standing to the rear of his JCB which was stationery on the side of the road exchanging details with the driver of another vehicle that had collided with his, when Mr. Richards ‘shot past’ in his car at around 8.30 am.
“The passenger wing mirror of Mr. Richards’s car struck the victim and he failed to stop,” explained Ms Morgan.
“Mr. Jameson suffered a bruised hip and a limp for several days after the incident.
“Mr. Richards was spoken to by the police and said that the sun was in his eyes when he was driving to get to an appointment with his doctor that morning,” she continued.
Defence solicitor Mike Kelleher told magistrates that his client had assumed that his wing mirror had struck the JCB, as he hadn’t seen any people standing by the road.
“He was totally unaware anybody had been struck. Mr. Richards is a man of clean character without a blemish on his driving licence for 55 years, and feels absolutely gutted that he was involved in something like this and didn’t stop,” he said.
Magistrates fined Mr. Richards £250 for failing to stop at an accident and his driving licence was endorsed with five penalty points.
He was also fined £165 for driving without due care and attention, and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £20 victim surcharge.