Driver jailed for killing pensioner on crossing

A woman has been jailed after hitting a disabled pensioner on a pelican crossing in Chatham, Kent.

Naomi North, 30, of Church Road, Swanscombe, failed to stop after the Ford Fiesta she was driving struck the man in his 70s, Kent Police said.

The victim who was walking with two sticks and was just a few steps from the kerb suffered multiple injuries and died at the scene.

North was jailed on Thursday for four years for dangerious driving and banned from driving for 12 years following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

The incident happened at the crossing in New Road on 10 August 2020 at about 22:50 BST.

Police say she had been driving at a speed of between 29 and 33mph but did not slow down as she approached the flashing amber lights of the crossing.

She told officers she had not seen the victim before the incident and panicked after realising she had hit someone.

She was arrested at a relative's house the following morning.

In a police interview North denied using her mobile phone at the time of the crash and said she had lost it in a park later that night.

Det Sgt Barry Goodsell said it was a a "tragic case" in which the victim was "left for dead by a motorist who was clearly not paying enough attention whilst driving".

He said: "The weather and lighting conditions were good, and we estimate North would have been able to see the victim for at least seven seconds before she collided with him.

"Only she knows what she was doing when she should have been fully concentrating on the road ahead of her."

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