Mercury Reporter
LICHFIELD, England — An ambulance driver involved in a death crash in Lichfield hit speeds of more than 70mph on a low-urgency call out, jurors heard.
Paramedic Kevin Webster’s Vauxhall estate smashed in to the side of a Ford Ka, killing its driver, pensioner Wendy Williams.
She had pulled out of a side road ahead of the ambulance, which braked heavily but couldn’t avoid hitting the driver’s side.
Mr Nicolas Cartwright, prosecuting, told the jury at Stafford Crown Court: “She pulled out of a side road when the defendant’s car was in vision, therefore she was at fault. We say Kevin Webster was at fault as well.
“Because he was answering an emergency call and activated his blue beacon, he was exempt from the speed limit, but he was not exempt from the requirement in law to drive with due care and attention.
“The allegation from the prosecution is he drove without due care and attention.”
Webster, aged 33, of Selwyn Road, Burntwood, denies a charge of causing Mrs Williams’s death by careless driving.
Mr Cartwright told the jury the accident happened on 23 December 2009, shortly after 3pm.
Webster was answering a ‘category C’ call - the least urgent - to a boy in Tamworth who had swallowed a coin.
Trust targets were to respond within 30 minutes.
With a distance of eight miles to travel, Webster would have met the time target at an average speed of 16mph.
“It was hard to see why it should have been necessary to exceed the speed limit on any part of that journey,” added Mr Cartwright.
The ambulance was fitted with a GPS tracking device which recorded its speed every five seconds.
At one point during the journey, the speed registered 77mph. It came down approximately 66mph on a stretch of road with a 40mph speed limit.
The scene of the accident was a staggered junction in Tamworth Road, Lichfield.
Mrs Williams, who lived in Water Orton Road, Castle Bromwich, had been visiting her daughter.
In the Ka with her was her neighbour, Mrs Norma Bates.
She survived the crash, but has no recollection of it whatsoever.
In the moments preceding the collision, Webster had braked heavily and the estimated speed when the cars made contact was 41mph.
“The collision was still a massive one. The impact was fatal to Mrs Williams,” said Mr Cartwright.
The trial, which is expected to last a week, is continuing.
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