Attleborough death crash: Lorry driver cleared by jury

Dudley Howe had been for a flu jab at a nearby doctor's surgery when he crossed Station Road

A lorry driver who ran over an 82-year-old pedestrian has been cleared of causing death by careless driving.

Dudley Howe walked in front of the stationary lorry in queuing traffic in Attleborough, Norfolk, and was killed when the vehicle pulled forward.

Norwich Crown Court was told driver Simon Rayner, of Abbot Road, Norwich, would have seen Mr Howe if mirrors on the lorry had been adjusted properly.

The jury took one and a half hours to find Mr Rayner, 52, not guilty.

Judge Anthony Bate said the jury had also taken the unusual step of also issuing a note calling for it to be a "criminal offence" for the mirror not to be adjusted correctly and called for greater training on the adjusting of mirrors by lorry drivers.

'Died instantly'

Mr Howe, who had mobility issues, crossed Station Road with his wheeled walker on his way home from a flu jab on 6 October 2017.

Traffic on his side of the road, including the lorry, was queuing back from the nearby railway crossing barrier.

Dashcam footage played to the jury showed him standing in the road, in front of the lorry, directly below where Mr Rayner was sitting.

The court heard Mr Rayner's lorry crept slowly forward, knocking the pensioner to the ground and under the lorry. Mr Howe died instantly.

PC Forbes Scott, an investigator with Norfolk Police, said if the close proximity mirrors had been properly set the pedestrian would have been visible in them.