Judith Wadsworth: Bride's mum 'highly visible' before crash - expert

Judith Wadsworth, 66, died the day before her daughter was due to be married at the Coniston Hotel and Spa

A woman who was killed outside a hotel where her daughter was due to marry would have been "highly visible" prior to the crash, a jury has been told.

Judith Wadsworth, 66, was run over by a Range Rover at the Coniston Hotel and Spa, near Skipton, in 2020.

Ergonomics expert Dr David Usher told Bradford Crown Court the driver, Nicholas Bannister, would have been able to see her "had he been looking".

Mr Bannister, 64, denies causing her death by careless driving.

The court has previously heard Mrs Wadsworth, from Baildon, had been helping with the final preparations for her daughter's wedding the following day when she was run down as she crossed an access road at the venue on 7 February 2020.

The jury has heard that hotel owner Mr Bannister, of Bell Busk, near Skipton, had pulled out of the drop-off road in front of the main entrance and is estimated to have been travelling between 9mph and 12mph at the time.

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Dr Usher told jurors he had examined all the available evidence to assess the "conspicuity" of both Mrs Wadsworth to Mr Bannister and the Range Rover to Mrs Wadsworth.

He told jurors: "In my opinion she would have been highly visible throughout Mr Bannister's approach to the crossing, had he been looking at her."

Nicholas Bannister, 64, denies causing death by careless driving.

Dr Usher was asked about the influence of the A-pillar of the Range Rover, which is the main support between the windscreen and driver's side window.

The expert said he believes it is "not credible" that the structure could have obscured Mr Bannister's view of Mrs Wadsworth throughout the time she was walking from the car park to when she was hit.

He said: "She would have to had to run very fast, so I believe that is not credible."

Dr Usher accepted that an A-pillar can obscure a driver's view momentarily but said the relative positions of the post and the pedestrian are moving.

He also stressed it is a "natural part of driving" for a motorist to move their head to compensate for this problem.

He added that Mr Bannister would also have been aware of the crossing and the likelihood of people on it, saying: "He should have been aware of the need to approach that walkway very carefully and slowly."

For the defence, Graham Edgar, a professor of psychology and applied neuroscience, said he disagreed with Dr Usher's conclusion that Mrs Wadsworth would have been highly visible.

He said he had reached his view "because we don't know where Mr Bannister was looking and we don't know where he was at that time, and we don't know where Mrs Wadsworth was at any particular time. We can't quantify it."

Asked about Dr Usher's views on it being natural for drivers to look around A-pillars Prof Edgar said it was "not an effective strategy" and he would "not expect a careful driver to do it".

The trial continues.