A pensioner who knocked over and killed a 90-year-old Blaenporth man as he was crossing the road suffered “momentary inattention” that caused the incident, a district judge has said.
Alan Amarananda Nagiah, 76, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving after he struck Barrie John Taylor on the A487 at Blaenporth on 24 November.
Prosecutor Helen Tench said Mr Taylor was crossing the road and was seen by another motorist at a nearby junction walking slowly across.
Nagiah, of Ty Capel, Twyrgwyn in Rhydlewis, was driving through and hit Mr Taylor as he was walking across the road, leading to Mr Taylor passing away.
A police crash investigation found that Mr Taylor would have been visible from around 140 metres away and that there was no indication that Nagiah had braked sharply to avoid a collision.
There was no suggestion that Nagiah had been distracted by a phone or sat nav system, with investigators and District Judge David Parsons saying the incident had been caused by “momentary inattention”.
Nagiah, who worked in the NHS for 25 years before working in a post office, told police he had not seen Mr Taylor, but had seen a “shadow” on his right side before his car’s windscreen was smashed.
His solicitor, Owen Edwards, said Nagiah still could not explain why he had not seen Mr Taylor and what had led to him hitting Mr Taylor, but said that “events have shaken him to the core”.
Nagiah had lived locally for many years with close ties, but following the case was planning to move to the north-east to be closer to his daughter.
District Judge Parsons said: “These cases are some of the most difficult cases we deal with.
“These cases are of course tragic. Mr Taylor lost his life in a terrible accident.
“That’s what this case is, an accident that has crossed into criminality because of careless driving.
“We are satisfied that this is momentary inattention that had a catastrophic and tragic outcome.”
Nagiah was fined £655, with District Judge Parsons saying that a community order was unlikely to be beneficial.
He was banned from driving for 18 months and will pay costs totalling £150.