Man thrown in air after Sunderland motorist was distracted by her sat nav

He was sent skyward by driver Patricia Hope when she took her eyes off the highway and ploughed into him in Philadelphia Lane, Shiney Row.

The man suffered two broken neck bones and needed nine staples to his head after being flung in the air at 12.50pm on Monday, February 3.

Hope, 62, of Southwold Gardens, Silksworth, Sunderland, told police she had been looking at her sat nav and did not realise the crossing’s lights were on red.

She has now been banned from the roads for a year under the totting up process after admitting driving without due care and attention.

Prosecutor Gurjot Kaur told South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court: “The man was walking to his car.

“He approached the road crossing at the Shiney Row roundabout, and the green man was showing for him to go from west to east.

“The defendant was travelling north to south. He had almost completed crossing the road, but she was distracted by her sat nav.

“He was thrown into the air by the impact and needed nine staples to his head.

“He also received two fractured neck bones, a wound to his left elbow and he was bruised all over.

“She stopped at the scene. She admitted to looking at her sat nav and to not seeing the red light.”

In a victim statement, the man said: “As a result of this collision, I have gone from being a fit man to an invalid.”

Amy Lamb, defending, said: “Ms Hope looked at the sat nav for a split second and hadn’t seen the red light.

“She looked up and saw him, but it was too late. She is devastated by this incident.

“She has driven for 40 years without anything on her record other than three points in January for speeding.

“I have to concede there were injuries and it was down to her looking at her sat nav. She is otherwise of good character.”

Hope was handed nine penalty points and fined £178 with £85 court costs and a £32 victim surcharge.

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