Picture by Mike Hillen/Herald

AN EXPERIENCED bus driver failed to see a pedestrian using a crossing in the centre of Pembroke and killed a woman “liked by all and loved by many.”

There was still no explanation why driver Stuart Heeps did not see Mrs Margaret Hanks until it was too late even though she would have been in full view for at least seven seconds.

Heeps, aged 55, of Appley Terrace, Pembroke Dock, today admitted causing death by careless driving and was jailed for 14 months, suspended for two years.

He was also banned from driving for three years and told to take an extended driving test before getting his licence back.

Swansea Crown Court heard that Heeps had been a specialist driver in the army and a bus driver for the last nine years.

Brian Simpson, prosecuting, said on March 7 Mrs Hanks, aged 75, had been walking along Northgate Street by the Mill Pond Bridge. She crossed the road on a pedestrian crossing and had almost reached the pavement on the far side when Heeps drove into her without braking or swerving.

The crash was caught by CCTV cameras and footage of the impact was shown to the court, with the agreement of Mrs Hanks’ family.

Heeps had been driving at between 17mph and 21mph in a 30mph area and did not react at all to Mrs Hanks being in front of him.

She suffered “catastrophic” head injuries and was declared dead while in an ambulance at the scene.

Heeps became so distraught he had to be comforted by passers by.

He said at the time, “She came from no-where.”

Mr Simpson said Heeps should have been able to see Mrs Hanks for 79 metres after turning into Northgate Street. He told police he had checked the exit of a car park and “scanned around” but did not see Mrs Hanks until she was on the ground.

Heeps’ barrister, Jonathan Tarrant, said he fully accepted his responsibility for the death of Mrs Hanks and had told him, “It was my fault. It was a personal failing.”

Heeps himself, added Mr Tarrant, would welcome an explanation as to why he had not seen Mrs Hanks even when she must have been right in front of his bus.

The court heard a victim impact statement from Mrs Heeps’ husband of 55 years, Derek. He said his wife had been “full of life,” a woman who would sing at the top of her voice at Haven Church, Pembroke.

He said he had lost the will to carry on with his own life and that his wife was deeply missed by her son Richard and daughter Marie, and her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Judge Huw Davies said Heeps’ driving had come “not far short” of dangerous and not just careless. There had been plenty of time for Heeps to see that someone was using the crossing but he had not reacted at all “and you just knocked her down.”

“This was a dreadful accident for which you bear the entire blame. Even you cannot explain why you did not react as you must have done times without number over the years.

“For one reason or another you allowed your attention to wander. It would have been simplicity itself to have braked and allowed her to continue crossing the road.

“The consequences have been desperately sad and Mrs Hanks’ husband is a very different man to the one he was before losing his wife.

“Margaret Hanks was liked by all and loved by many and they have struggled to cope with an irreplaceable loss.”

*Judge Davies criticised the Crown Prosecution Service for the way the case had been prepared. It was sub standard, he said, particularly for a case involving a fatality.

He said he did not criticise Mr Simpson but those in the CPS who “hid behind his presence while he took the flak.”

It appeared, he added, that the CPS took an early indication of a guilty plea as an excuse to stop doing any more work.