A VAN driver whose careless driving left a teenage girl with a ‘significant injury’ has been fined £1,500.
Kieran John Aubert (35) was responsible for the accident on Mont Millais on 7 February in which a 17-year-old student was injured, the Magistrate’s Court heard.
Advocate Sophie Lister, prosecuting, said the girl was walking along the pavement near the entrance to Victoria College at around 12.25pm when the van suddenly shot towards her and she was struck by its wing mirror, which broke off.
The mirror injured her left arm and leg. The collision also pushed her back against a wall, causing the books in the bag on her back to dig into her and injure her left shoulder blade and ribs.
The girl was taken to hospital by ambulance, but released a short time later. However, she returned two days later to be checked again.
Advocate Lister said: ‘There was some soft-tissue swelling. She was having nightmares in relation to the incident.’
The injuries were not permanent.
Advocate Julia-Anne Dix, defending, argued that Aubert had had to move swiftly to the side of the road where the girl was walking because another vehicle was coming in the opposite direction and crossing the white lines in the middle.
‘It was a split-second error in response to another driver’s bad driving,’ she said.
She added: ‘He immediately stopped and gave the girl assistance.
‘He phoned for the ambulance and he was very apologetic. There was clear remorse. He was co-operative with the police and he repeatedly asked for updates on how the victim was. In short, Mr Aubert did everything he could have done in relation to this unfortunate accident.’
Aubert admitted driving without due care and attention. The court heard that the girl’s injuries were not severe enough for him to face the graver charge of causing serious injury by careless driving.
Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris accepted that the accident had not caused serious injury, but told him: ‘It did cause significant injury.
‘That area is between two schools. There will be schoolchildren around, especially at lunchtime. It is a high-risk area. Be extra careful when driving.’
He decided not to ban him from driving but endorsed his licence for three years, as well as imposing the fine. He allowed him to pay it at a rate of £100 per month.
