Pedestrian left critically injured by white van man
A van driver left a pedestrian with life-threatening brain injuries after failing to slow down as he approached a busy crossing, a court heard.
Electrician Hugo Gantley, 25, sent Neil Egerton flying through the air when he hit him on Talgarth Road behind the A4 Hammersmith flyover on 26 October last year.
Gantley beeped his horn and made ‘no apparent efforts to slow down’ as he drove towards a group of pedestrians crossing the road on a red man signal when there was a gap in traffic.
Mr Egerton was just a few paces into the road when Gantley’s white Volkswagen Caddy hit him at around 25mph, leaving him in critical condition.
Gantley, who was convicted of drink-driving and failing to stop after an accident in 2013, stopped at the scene and called for an ambulance as shocked bystanders crowded around Mr Egerton to protect him from oncoming traffic.
‘Witnesses reported hearing a beeping of a horn and seeing the approach of a white van,’ said prosecutor Kunal Dave.
‘The van continued towards the crossing causing some to run for their safety.’
He added: ‘It’s said that this van made no apparent efforts to slow down and stop.’
Gantley slammed on the brakes just before he hit Mr Egerton at about 25mph causing severe brain injuries and broken bones.
Mr Dave said: ‘Mr Egerton froze and was thrown up into the air, he was thrown some distance forward and right where he landed in the middle of the box junction and sustained numerous life-threatening injuries.’
Mr Egerton was rushed to St Mary’s hospital in critical condition and was later transferred to Charing Cross Hospital.
He spent four months in neural rehabilitation and then stayed in hospital for another two months as he recovered from the horror crash.
The court heard Gantley is ‘fully remorseful’ and has been in ‘regular contact’ with Mr Egerton and his family after the crash.
He appeared at Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court wearing a grey jacket over a white shirt and blue tie as he pleaded guilty to one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Chair of the bench Henry Magrill ordered a pre-sentence report, adding: ‘This was an appalling incident by everybody’s agreement.
‘We have heard that a number of people including the victim Mr Egerton crossed the busy road against the pedestrian signal, but that in and of itself does not give leeway or an excuse for a driver to fail to slow down when, as we have heard, there were plenty of people on the road.’
Gantley, of Orchard Rise, Richmond, Surrey, will be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on a date yet to be set.
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