Van driver cleared of careless driving after reversing over and killing Leeds woman in 'tragic accident'
A delivery driver who reversed his van over a woman on a Leeds cul-de-sac, killing her, has been cleared of careless driving.
The jury at Leeds Crown Court agreed that the death of 63-year-old Susan Taylor was simply a “tragic accident”. She had been struck by the Mercedes Sprinter on Park Crescent in Rothwell on the afternoon of December 1, 2021.
Driven by Vitalijus Satilo, he had delivered a parcel and was reversing along the street when he collided with Mrs Taylor. The Crown claimed he failed to check his blind spot before setting off, which he vehemently denied.
Having been sent out to begin deliberating on Thursday morning, the jury returned a unanimous not-guilty verdict on Thursday afternoon. Addressing the jury, Judge Richard Mansell KC said: “It was a tragic accident that day. These are difficult cases for juries to deal with.”
The trial, which started on Monday, heard that 39-year-old Satilo - a self-employed delivery driver who contracted himself out to Yodel courier service - entered Park Crescent at 1.06pm to make a delivery, then got back into his van, captured on CCTV by a nearby property. Mrs Taylor was also seen walking past the van as she returned home from a walk.
However, she had stepped onto the road at some point to avoid an oncoming dog walker, due to Covid social-distancing restrictions. But it was not known - and was not captured by CCTV - whether she stepped back onto the pavement, then back onto the road, or remained on the road the entire time.
Giving evidence, Satilo said the road was clear before he got back behind the wheel. He said: “There was nothing behind at all. It was a completely empty road. Only just one car was parked on the road.” He later said: “There’s nothing more I could have done.”
Satilo, of Woodville Court, Wakefield, began reversing then heard a “noise and a bump”, which he thought was a parcel falling in the back of his van.
He got out to find Mrs Taylor lying motionless. In shock, he raised the alarm with residents on the street and people came to her aid as a 999 call was made.
Fighting back tears, he said: “It was very quiet, there were no noises. I put two fingers on her neck to check for her pulse, but there was nothing. My hands were shaking.”
Despite efforts by local residents and then arriving paramedics, they were unable to save her. CCTV showed that Satilo’s average reversing speed, calculated from when the van was still in view of the CCTV, was around 7.5 to 8mph