Driver, 87, walks free after mowing down woman on mobility scooter

Raymond Hampshire was driving home in the evening from a casino when his Ford Sierra struck the scooter, throwing 43-year-old spina bifida sufferer Fiona Buckley to the ground.

Sheffield Crown Court heard Hampshire had cataracts in both eyes at the time of the incident and would not have been fit to be on the road even if he had been wearing glasses.

Miss Buckley suffered a major head injury and broke her pelvis, spine and leg. She died in hospital six weeks later from multi-organ failure due to the injuries sustained in the accident.

Hampshire, of Eckington, near Sheffield, admitted causing Miss Buckley's death by careless driving in the crash which happened in Abbey Lane, in the Beauchief area of the city.

But Judge Robert Moore gave the ex-soldier an absolute discharge after hearing that an accident expert regarded the victim as reckless for riding on the road in the dark on a black scooter.

The court heard the victim was riding in the road at 10pm on December 6, 2008 with her carer Kay Pilley, 46, walking just behind. They were heading in the same direction as the defendant.

Hampshire later told police he had just set off from some traffic lights and was doing about 20 mph uphill. He said: "Suddenly I heard this bang at the front of the car and wondered what it was. I never saw them at all. That was it."

Prosecutor Rachael Harrison said the women had earlier been spotted on the carriageway by other motorists.

Miss Buckley was left unconscious and Miss Pilley was lying in the road. She suffered head and knee injuries and was treated at hospital. She could not remember what happened.

Hampshire had cataracts in both eyes which had probably been there for 18 months. He also suffered from age-related macular degeneration which blurs the central vision.

Miss Harrison said: "He was not fit for driving even with glasses and he had to have an operation on the cataracts."

When charged by police in August last year, Hampshire replied: "I do not see how it was my fault. It's not my fault, I'm devastated by this."

Fiona Buckley lived at the Henleigh Hall Care Home on Abbey Lane, Sheffield. An accident investigator said her black wheelchair had no lights or reflectors fitted and it was unlicensed for the road.

In his view it was reckless for the women to be on the carriageway. But he also said Hampshire should have seen them on the well-lit road.

After the hearing, Audrey Heeley, 74, the victim's aunt who spoke on behalf of the family said: "We are all upset over the sentence.

"I don't think the judge appreciated that the wheelchair was only on the road momentarily so Fiona could get onto the pavement. If she had fallen her carer could not have put her back into the wheelchair. We loved Fiona very much and will miss her."

Hampshire has already had his driving licence revoked by the DVLA for to medical reasons

Tim Savage, for the pensioner, said he ran away to join the Army at 16 and had served with the Leicestershire regiment during the Second World War.

He had served in the Kenyan police force, been a Mountie and a lumberjack in Canada and then returned to Sheffield where he was a taxi driver for many years.

Mr Savage said he had held a clean driving licence for 69 years. His cataracts had developed over time and he was unaware of any decline in his vision. "He is morally almost without blame. There was nothing in his driving to criticise save for his failure to see."

Despite having the cataracts removed he had chosen not to reapply for his driving licence.

Judge Moore told Hampshire: "In an act of proper remorse you accept some responsibility for this sad death."

He said the level of culpability fell below sentencing guidelines and went on: "Punishment is not appropriate, the fact of the conviction is the real punishment."

After the hearing Hampshire said: "I have nothing to say."