Morrisons supermarket delivery driver sentenced at court after pedestrian seriously injured in Alnwick

Robin Straker suffered five broken ribs, a sprained wrist and required 15 stitches to a head wound after he was hit by the Morrisons driver.

Magistrates heard the collision happened around 8pm on February 12, 2024 as Mr Straker crossed a road on Hawfinch Drive after visiting the Hog’s Head Inn.

Prosecutor James Long told the court that van driver Trevor Tait cut the corner on the access road to McDonald’s and a filling station.

“The victim had almost crossed the road and the defendant cut the corner and struck the victim, causing quite significant injuries,” said the prosecutor.

CCTV footage from the van cab showed the victim being struck as he was three-quarters of the way across the road.

Magistrates heard the defendant stopped the vehicle to ask if Mr Straker was okay before leaving a short time later.

The court heard Mr Straker was covered in blood but walked home. When he got there his wife took him to Alnwick Infirmary and he was transferred by ambulance to the Northumbria Specialist Care Emergency Hospital in Cramlington where he was kept in overnight.

Magistrates were told Mr Straker, a self-employed sole trader, had been unable to work for several weeks as a result.

In mitigation, Ian O’Rourke told the court that the defendant accepted full responsibility. He also acknowledged he should have stayed at the scene longer and asked for assistance when it became clear the victim was injured.

The defendant, 56, from Ayton in Berwickshire, was subsequently dismissed by Morrisons. He is now working at a holiday park in Coldingham.

He appeared at Berwick Magistrates Court on Friday for sentencing after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to causing serious injury by careless driving.

Magistrates told him: “That is one serious corner cut. The pedestrian doesn’t expect the vehicle to come on the wrong side of the road and is totally taken out.”

The defendant was disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay a fine and court costs totalling £980.