 A hotel owner who hit and killed a bride's mother the day before her wedding has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. Nicholas Bannister ran over Judith Wadsworth as she crossed an access road near the main entrance to the Coniston Hotel, near Skipton, North Yorkshire in February 2020. He has been on trial at Bradford Crown Court since last week accused of causing death by careless driving – but the case has collapsed today. A jury heard how Mr Bannister's Range Rover had just pulled out from a small road from the reception area and was travelling at 9-12mph when he struck Mrs Wadsworth. The 64-year-old only stopped his vehicle another 20 metres down the road when he heard a 'terrible noise' from under his car, the court heard. 'I just didn't see her', he said during a police interview just hours after the incident on February 7, 2020. Mrs Wadsworth, 66, was collecting boxes from her vehicle in the hotel car park on the eve of her daughter Rebecca Blacker's wedding and was returning to the main reception when the incident happened. Mr Bannister arriving at Bradford Crown Court on September 13 where he was facing trial accused of causing the death of Judith Wadsworth by driving without due care and attention (Picture: PA) The grandmother tragically died at the scene and Mr Bannister denied the charged of driving without due care and attention. And he has now been acquitted by the jury after prosecutor Michael Smith said there was no longer a prospect of conviction based on the evidence available. Judge Jonahan Gibson ordered jurors to find him not guilty and said it was 'an entirely appropriate decision in my view'. The jury of seven women and four men had also previously heard that hotel employee Natasha Hobson-Shaw was the only witness to the collision as she drove towards Mr Bannister's car. She had stopped her vehicle in order for him to make his manoeuvre. Judith Wadsworth){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A hotel owner who hit and killed a bride’s mother the day before her wedding has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.
Nicholas Bannister ran over Judith Wadsworth as she crossed an access road near the main entrance to the Coniston Hotel, near Skipton, North Yorkshire in February 2020.
He has been on trial at Bradford Crown Court since last week accused of causing death by careless driving – but the case has collapsed today.
A jury heard how Mr Bannister’s Range Rover had just pulled out from a small road from the reception area and was travelling at 9-12mph when he struck Mrs Wadsworth.