A pedestrian’s make-up was left smeared across the windscreen of a car which knocked her over as she crossed a road in Glenrothes.
Isobel Rothnie, 81, told a court yesterday she did not see the 26-year-old walking across Woodside Road on November 25, 2017, before she knocked her over, causing her to be trapped under the vehicle.
The victim suffered a catalogue of injuries, including a broken collarbone, three broken front teeth, injuries and swelling to the face.
She was taken to Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital and not released until the following day.
However, Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard the force of the collision was such the victim’s make-up was left smeared on Rothnie’s windscreen, consistent with her face hitting the glass.
Appearing before Sheriff Grant McCulloch, Rothnie admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving as she made her way home on the afternoon in question.
Fiscal depute Nicola Henderson said the victim had been mid-crossing, passing from east to west in Woodside Road, at around 4.30pm when the accident happened.
Her face collided with the windscreen of Rothnie’s Nissan Micra and she fell to the ground in front of the vehicle.
Rothnie effectively “drove over” the woman before the vehicle stopped, leaving her trapped face down underneath the car between the front and back wheels.
“She was conscious and breathing, but in a considerable amount of pain,” the depute continued.
Witnesses saw Rothnie leave the vehicle, while two other bystanders also saw what happened and called police.
The injured woman was released by emergency services before being rushed to hospital.
The court also heard from Rothnie’s defence solicitor, who revealed her client had surrendered her driving licence following the accident and has not driven since.
The solicitor said it had been “half dark” at the time of the accident and the pedestrian had been wearing dark clothing, noting her client’s assertion there had been a “blind spot” which caused her not to see the lady.
“What? Right in front of her?” asked Sheriff McCulloch, to which the solicitor replied: “Yes.”
The court heard Rothnie was unable to provide a breath sample due to her age and fragility but police had no suspicions of her being under the influence of drink or drugs in any case.
Following an extensive investigation, police said there was nothing to suggest why the pensioner had failed to give way to the woman on the crossing.
Rothnie had been driving for 50 years prior to the incident with a clean driving record and had subsequently been seen by an opthamologist and undertook tests which confirmed her fitness to drive.
However, she decided to voluntarily surrender her licence to the DVLA.
In sentencing, Sheriff McCulloch told Rothnie: “There’s very little I can say that you probably haven’t said to yourself. You ought to have seen her.”
Sheriff McCulloch disqualified Rothnie from driving for a period of two years, and imposed a hefty £1,400 fine.
