Acquittal in death by careless driving case

Sonn Macmillan Walker represented a commercial lorry driver, accused of moving his vehicle into the path of a motorcyclist without checking his mirrors or indicating, causing a fatal collision

Our client’s case was that the motorcyclist had undertaken him on the Holloway Road in north London, and the collision was a tragic accident of the sort that could befall any competent driver in London’s rush hour traffic. This account was supported by the evidence of a Forensic Collision Investigator, who demonstrated that the motorcyclist had attempted to undertake in a gap as small as 1.1 metres wide at a speed approaching 30mph, itself a breach of the Highway Code, and that the distance that our client’s truck moved to the left was 50cm.

After a 6 day trial before the Wood Green Crown Court, the jury unanimously acquitted our client after only twenty minutes of deliberation.

David Sonn was the solicitor with conduct of the case, assisted by Robert Morton. Clea Topolski of Crucible Chambers was instructed as counsel.