This is Exeter -- A van driver has told a jury he never saw a lorry in the moments before a crash which killed a timber delivery man. Phillip White sobbed as he told Exeter Crown Court he was so dazzled by the sun that he never saw anything until the moment of impact. He denied being 'on automatic pilot' and failing to take account of the weather conditions before the accident, which happened just yards from his front door in Tiverton. Timber firm delivery driver Nigel Guttridge, aged 61, of Thelbridge Cross, Witheridge, had just got out of his cab and was walking behind his truck when he was trapped by the impact with White's Renault van. White, aged 52, of Barle Court, was on his way to work and had turned out of his own road onto Lea Road just yards from the scene of the fatal accident in April 2012. He denies causing Mr Guttridge's death by careless driving and says he was blinded by the rising sun and driving at only 20 to 25 mph. The prosecution say he should have slowed or stopped if he could not see and that his van was in fourth gear when it was examined at the scene. Police accident investigator Pc Philip Rowan-Smith said he recreated the fatal journey the next day when weather conditions were identical and found he had to slow down to cope with the dazzling effect of the sun. He said there were no tyre marks to suggest braking and other witnesses say White drove straight into the back of the lorry. White told the jury he was going to work as normal and was so dazzled by the sun that he did not see the lorry at all. He said he had seen lorries pulled over in Lea Road before while their drivers went to nearby shops but said he had never come across one in the position where he collided with the timber truck. He said:"I had seen the sun shining down the road before but never as bright as that morning. I had never known it that bright before. "I put my visor down but can't remember where I was when I did so. I have asked myself a thousand times why I didn't I didn't see the lorry, but I never saw it. "I got into my van that morning, got out onto the road and I hit the lorry. That is all I can remember." Mr Richard Crabb, prosecuting, asked him:"You were on automatic pilot, making a journey you have done many times before?" He replied:"I don't know. I'm sorry. I never saw the lorry until I hit it." Mr Guttridge worked for the local firm Pennymoor Timber as a part time driver. He was a semi retired former director of a tool hire firm whose hobby was restoring vintage vehicles.
Reported by This is 11 hours ago.
This is Exeter -- A van driver has told a jury he never saw a lorry in the moments before a crash which killed a timber delivery man. Phillip White sobbed as he told Exeter Crown Court he was so dazzled by the sun that he never saw anything until the moment of impact. He denied being 'on automatic pilot' and failing to take account of the weather conditions before the accident, which happened just yards from his front door in Tiverton. Timber firm delivery driver Nigel Guttridge, aged 61, of Thelbridge Cross, Witheridge, had just got out of his cab and was walking behind his truck when he was trapped by the impact with White's Renault van. White, aged 52, of Barle Court, was on his way to work and had turned out of his own road onto Lea Road just yards from the scene of the fatal accident in April 2012. He denies causing Mr Guttridge's death by careless driving and says he was blinded by the rising sun and driving at only 20 to 25 mph. The prosecution say he should have slowed or stopped if he could not see and that his van was in fourth gear when it was examined at the scene. Police accident investigator Pc Philip Rowan-Smith said he recreated the fatal journey the next day when weather conditions were identical and found he had to slow down to cope with the dazzling effect of the sun. He said there were no tyre marks to suggest braking and other witnesses say White drove straight into the back of the lorry. White told the jury he was going to work as normal and was so dazzled by the sun that he did not see the lorry at all. He said he had seen lorries pulled over in Lea Road before while their drivers went to nearby shops but said he had never come across one in the position where he collided with the timber truck. He said:"I had seen the sun shining down the road before but never as bright as that morning. I had never known it that bright before. "I put my visor down but can't remember where I was when I did so. I have asked myself a thousand times why I didn't I didn't see the lorry, but I never saw it. "I got into my van that morning, got out onto the road and I hit the lorry. That is all I can remember." Mr Richard Crabb, prosecuting, asked him:"You were on automatic pilot, making a journey you have done many times before?" He replied:"I don't know. I'm sorry. I never saw the lorry until I hit it." Mr Guttridge worked for the local firm Pennymoor Timber as a part time driver. He was a semi retired former director of a tool hire firm whose hobby was restoring vintage vehicles.
Reported by This is 11 hours ago.