Mercedes driver, 31, hit a traffic light which then fell on and killed a female pedestrian, 58, while ‘distracted by a SPIDER’ dangling from roof of his car’
- Edvinas Gilius mounted the city centre pavement and killed Janet Cawood
- The 58-year-old died of her injuries a few days after the crash in Bradford
- Mr Gilius admitted causing death by driving without due care and attention
A motorist killed a pedestrian because a spider dangling from the roof of his car had distracted him, a court heard.
Edvinas Gilius ploughed into a traffic light and knocked it onto Janet Cawood in the city centre crash after mounting the pavement with his Mercedes-Benz C220.
Miss Cawood, 58, tragically died of her injuries a few days later despite emergency services rushing to the scene of the crash.
Mr Gilius could face jail for the crash, which happened at around 12.40pm on August 3 last year.
Police and paramedics are pictured at the scene of the crash in Bradford, West Yorkshire, which ended the life of Janet Cawood
The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to causing the death by driving without due care and attention.
Philip Morris, defending Mr Gilius, said it was a serious allegation, but that his client pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and made admissions before that to the police.
Police previously investigated the possibility that Mr Gilius was on his phone when he crashed but this had been totally discounted.
Mr Morris said: ‘There is no evidence that the defendant was using a mobile phone at the time.’
Mr Gilius told the police that he was distracted by a spider descending from the roof of his car. Bradford Crown Court heard it was a case centring on ‘avoidable distraction’.
The court heard that Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court committed the case to the crown court without a pre-sentence report, although Mr Gilius had no previous convictions.
Mr Gilius, of Bradford, West Yorkshire, was due to be sentenced on Tuesday, August 6, but Judge Jonathan Gibson adjourned the case for a probation report at the request of Mr Morris.
Jonathan Sharp, barrister for the Crown, did not oppose the suggestion because Gilius was a man of good character and the probation service did not think that a stand-down report, completed the same day, was the way forward.
Sentencing was postponed until September 6 and Mr Gilius has been bailed until then.
Judge Gibson said he had considered the matter with great care and decided the defendant should have such a report as it would give him more background information on Mr Gilius and make suggestions about the appropriate type of sentence.
He added: ‘All options including custody remain open.’