A VAN driver has admitted causing a low speed accident that led to the death of a 91-year-old pedestrian.
Darren Crocombe, aged 44, of Barton Drive, Newton Abbot, pleaded guilty to a single count of causing death by careless driving when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court.
He admitted causing the death of pensioner Robert Hoo-Hing while driving a black Mercedes Vito van on the Kingsteignton Business Park in Newton Road, Kingsteignton on the afternoon of Friday, October 2, 2020.
Mr Hoo-Hing died at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth on October 3.
Judge Timothy Rose imposed an interim driving ban and told Crocombe he would be subject to a mandatory one-year ban when he is sentenced on December 9 this year.
He indicated at an earlier hearing that the punishment would be a community sentence rather than either an immediate or suspended prison sentence.
Mr Peter Coombe, prosecuting, said the accident happened as Crocombe was pulling out of a commercial premises on the trading estate at low speed and failed to see the pedestrian.
He said there were no aggravating features of the case and it was ‘simply the case of the driver failing to see the pedestrian’.
Mr Michael Brown, defending, said Crocombe has been a professional driver for 20 years and feared losing his livelihood as a result of the inevitable ban.