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Driver cleared of causing
Page 9
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death of pensioner in 2003 A 36-YEAR-OLD truck driver has been cleared of causing the death of a pensioner by careless driving.
Dennis Wealthall, 71, died after being trapped under Mark Woolls' 10-tonner at a pedestrian crossing in Loughborough, Leicestershire in July 2003.
Following a two-day trial at Loughborough Magistrates Court. district Judge David Meredith accepted that Woolls had made all the appropriate safety checks from his cab before pulling away from the crossing.Woolls admitted that he had failed to check a blind spot in front of his vehicle as he drove away, but denied causing death by dangerous driving.
The court heard that Wealthall sustained fatal injuries when he was knocked down and pulled under the wheels of the cab and trailer.Woolls, who has held a class one HGV licence for 12 years, said he only realised what had happened when members of the public screamed at him to stop.
David Allan, defending, said Highway Code regulations made no reference to the blind spot in front of the cab.
The victim's family have contacted their MP and the Department for Transport, calling for improved safety measures at the junction.