![Mum blames unborn baby's kick for serious car crash]()
This is South Devon --
A heavily-pregnant driver from Ashburton who crashed into an elderly cyclist blamed the accident on her unborn child kicking her.
Mum-to-be Rebecca Knowles-Dixon, 28, lost control of her car and ploughed into the path of the pensioner on a county road.
The 74-year-old was thrown 'some distance' from his bike and suffered serious chest and head injuries.
But when Knowles-Dixon appeared in court in Torquay she blamed the crash on the unborn child in her tummy.
She claimed a series of 'painful' kicks in her ribs by the baby caused her to flinch behind the wheel and swerve in front of the pensioner.
Knowles-Dixon admitted driving without due care an attention at Torquay Magistrates Court.
She told the court: "I was heavily pregnant at the time when the baby kicked me in the ribs several times and very hard.
"This made me flinch and caused me to have a momentary lapse in concentration.
"I could not have predicted what happened. It's never happened to me before. It's really quite painful."
Knowles-Dixon's Peugeot ploughed into a hedge and veered into the path of the cyclist, the court heard.
The OAP was thrown from his bike and suffered chest and head injuries in the September 6 smash.
He was airlifted to hospital but survived the incident in a 'windy, narrow country road' just outside Ashburton.
Prosecutor Chris Bittlestone said speed was not a factor in the crash because Knowles-Dixon was only doing 20mph.
She said she relied on her car to do festival work and losing it would cause her 'exceptional hardship'.
She also insisted that she always tried to drive as safely as possible.
Magistrates fined her £150 put three points on her driving license.
The court heard pregnant Knowles-Dixon was driving down a hill when she felt her baby kicking and swerved into a hedge.
Her elderly victim, Graham Walden, was cycling through the countryside with his wife when Knowles-Dixon bounced off the bush and ploughed into him.
He was airlifted to hospital with fractured ribs and breathing difficulties.
Knowles-Dixon told police in the wake of the collision that she lost control when she felt the kicking. Her visibility was also poor because there was glare on her windscreen.
The court heard Knowles-Dixon has since had her baby.
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This is Grimsby -- POLICE have closed the A1077, Station Road, in Ulceby in both directions following a crash with a green Landrover Freelander and a red Kia. One man has been taken to Hull Royal Infirmary after receiving serious head injuries. Two other people involved in the crash sustained only minor injuries. The road closure is in force between the junctions of Coronation Road and Front Street as of 4.23pm today, Monday. Police are advising motorists to use alternative routes. Updates will appear here.
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Reported by This is 1 day ago.