A driver has been banned from the roads for 12 months after a crash in Newcastle left an 11-year-old boy needing surgery for a broken leg and his sister with a fractured shoulder blade.
The victims, a brother and sister, were crossing Sandyford Road during rush hour on May 27 2024, when they were hit by a car driven by Ian Barclay, 65, of Carnaby Drive, Hadston, near Amble, Northumberland.
Incident details
Newcastle Magistrates' Court heard that the pair had been forced to cross the road because a nearby underpass was temporarily closed. They decided to cross near a roundabout after spotting what they thought was a break in the traffic, as Barclay was indicating to turn right.
However, prosecutors said Barclay had accidentally left his indicator on from a previous manoeuvre and failed to turn, instead going straight on and crashing into the youngsters.
The court heard that the sister, who had been picking up her younger brother, saw Barclay's car indicating as if it would turn right and decided to cross, as it would not come into their path. But the indicator had been left on by accident and Barclay went straight over.
Injuries and aftermath
Both children were taken to hospital, where it was found the boy had suffered a broken femur, which required surgery, and his older sister had suffered a broken shoulder blade. The whole incident was captured on CCTV on a following bus, and Barclay stayed at the scene.
Ruth Forster, prosecuting, said the case involved a sad set of circumstances where there were "no winners". She added: "[The sister] judged that it was safe to cross and took [her brother] by the hand and they got to the central reservation."
"They looked at other traffic. The weather conditions were poor. There was heavy rain and they were carrying umbrellas. It was also rush hour, so the traffic was heavy."
Mrs Forster said: "[The sister] stepped forward and that's the last thing she remembers until waking up on the road and hearing her younger brother screaming."
Court outcome
Barclay pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by careless driving. Hannah Mostoufi, defending, said Barclay had no past convictions and had recently retired from a career as a driver for Stoneacre Volvo, which saw him doing up to 60,000 miles a year.
Mrs Mostoufi added: "He's never had a penalty point, despite doing all those miles. On the day in question, Mr Barclay had come off the Coast Road on to Sandyford Road."
"The lane he was in becomes a bus lane, so he turned his indicator on to turn into another lane. It was always his intention to go straight over the roundabout. The traffic was really heavy and he hadn't noticed that the indicator hadn't automatically clicked off."
"It was an unfortunate accident. When he saw them in the road, he did try his very best to avoid a collision."
As well as the 12-month ban, magistrates fined Barclay £320 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £128 victim surcharge. Both children have since made a full recovery.
