Ban for careless driver who hospitalised Moray pensioner for five months

A motorist has been banned for careless driving after his car severely injured a pedestrian in Keith.

CCTV footage of the accident on October 13, 2022, was played at Elgin Sheriff Court where the case against Dean Hargreaves was heard.

It showed the 27-year-old defendant’s vehicle collide with a male pedestrian on Regent Square shortly before 5pm.

The impact left the 68-year-old victim with a fractured skull, pelvis, hip and shoulder blade as well as several broken ribs.

Outlining the extent of the injuries to the court, fiscal depute Karen Poke stated that the man had subsequently spent five months in hospital in Aberdeen.

She added: “The quality of his life will never be the same as it was before the accident.”

Regarding the accident itself, Ms Poke said: “A witness heard a vehicle and a loud thud. The car struck the passenger as seen on the footage. The witness found him unconscious with blood coming from a head injury.

“The accused appeared to be in shock.”

Ms Poke stated that Hargreaves said: “I think I just hit him. He came out of nowhere.”

The court heard that the sun had been very low in the sky at the time of the accident, making it difficult to see properly.

Asking for leniency to be shown, defence solicitor Robert Cruickshank stated that Hargreaves was a lorry driver by trade which meant he would inevitably lose his job.

The lawyer added that his client, who no longer lives in Keith, would also be punished further because the ban would make it harder to maintain contact with his child.

In addition, Hargreaves was a military veteran who had “shown a strong work ethic all his adult life”.

Turning to the collosin Mr Cruickshank said: “Despite his being in shock after the collision he dealt with the matter appropriately, attending to the victim as far as he could until the emergency services arrived.

“The report before the court states that Mr Hargreaves was ‘visibly emotional’ when he talked about the accident afterwards.”

Dean Hargreaves admitted a charge of careless driving and was banned from the roads for a year. Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood also ordered him to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work for the community during the next four months.