A woman who continued to drive after having her licence revoked due to failing eyesight "ploughed" into a pensioner causing life-changing injuries, a court has heard. In the year before Emma Evans knocked down her victim as he crossed the road she had twice been caught behind the wheel after having her licence taken off her on medical grounds.
A judge told the mother-of-three her "selfishness and arrogance" in continuing to drive had caused her victim serious injuries and had greatly affected the quality of his life, including his ability to spend time with his grandchildren. But he said he was not going to send her to prison, for the sake of her children, even though she "richly deserved" immediate custody.
Brian Simpson, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court the collision happened at around 11.30am on January 13 last year when the victim - a 75-year-old man - was crossing Station Road in Llanelli town centre. Evans drove straight into the man, "throwing him into the air" and sending him crashing to the ground. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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The defendant stopped at the scene and within minutes police had arrived and an officer provided first aid to the casualty until paramedics arrived and took over. The prosecutor said the 37-year-old defendant was spoken to at the scene and said she was sorry, and told officers she had been in a rush, was looking for a parking space, and had had the sun in her eyes.
The court heard the victim was taken to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen suffering with a bleed on the brain, a fractured hip socket, and a dislocated shoulder. He was subsequently transferred to a specialist unit at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where he spent four days before being returned to Glangwili where he stayed until being discharged on February 2.
In a statement read to the court the pensioner detailed the impact of the collision on his life. He said before being knocked down he had attended a leisure centre three or four times a week to keep fit and to enjoy the social interaction with people he'd come to know there, visits he had enjoyed a great a deal but which he could no longer undertake.
He also said he used to go for long walks of six or seven miles a day, something he could also no longer do. The pensioner said he was still suffering with balance problems which meant he had to take a walking stick with him wherever he went, and that he had been a season ticket holder with the Scarlets for 50 years but since the collision had only attended a match once or twice as he struggled to negotiate the steps at the stadium. He also said his ability to spend time playing with grandchildren had been impacted, and his mobility and balance problems made him feel insecure and had knocked his self-confidence.
Emma Evans, of Heol Goffa, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving when she appeared in the dock for sentencing. The court heard Evans had never held a full licence, and had her provisional licence revoked due to retinitis pigmentosa.
Following a visual field test at a Specsavers branch in March, 2021, the defendant was sent a letter by the DVLA telling her she had not met the required vision standard and must not drive a vehicle. In August, 2022, and then again in November, 2022, Evans was caught driving, and on each occasion was given six penalty points - the second conviction saw her disqualified from driving as a "totter" after reaching 12 penalty points.
Hannah George, for Evans, said the defendant was genuinely remorseful and wished to apologise to the victim and his family for the "trauma" she had caused. She said the collision had been a "reckoning" for the defendant who had made it clear she never intended to drive again. The barrister said Evans had suffered significantly in the past with depression, and said she was the sole carer for her three young children who would be significantly impacted were she to be sent straight into custody.
Judge Paul Thomas KC told the defendant she should simply not have been behind the wheel when she "ploughed" into the pedestrian, and said her "selfishness and arrogance" in driving had caused her victim serious injuries and had greatly affected many aspects of his life. He said the offending clearly crossed the custody threshold but he was persuaded that the sentence of imprisonment could be suspended for the sake the defendant's children.
He told her: "Let me make this clear: The only reason you are not going to prison today is the children. If it had not been for the children you would be going to prison, something which you richly deserve." With a one-third discount for her guilty plea Evans was sentenced to 20 months in prison suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course. She was banned from driving for five years and must pass an extended test before she can get a licence.
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