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Speeding cabbie should have seen victim on the road

2/ 7/2008

A TAXI driver was breaking the speed limit when he hit a student, a court heard.
But a judge at Manchester magistrates court said psychology student Vicky Spear `contributed' to her death by being drunk.

She was struck crossing Wilmslow Road in Fallowfield with a friend at four in the morning in March last year.
Thrown into the air the 20-year-old of nearby Brook Street sustained a fatal head injury and died in hospital three days later.

District judge Tim Devas ruled that Raja Ahmed, 49, should have seen her and convicted him of with driving without due care and attention.

Ahmed of Devon Road, Cadishead, had denied the charge claiming the girls emerged from behind another taxi giving him no time to avoid hitting Vicky.

The prosecution had conceded that while the girls were crossing Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, near to a pelican crossing, the lights were against them.

Judge Devas said he was satisfied Ahmed had been travelling in excess of the 30mph limit and should have spotted Vicky and taken evasive action.

"But it's my view Vicky contributed to the collision that tragically cost her life," said the judge.
"She was clearly under the influence of alcohol which could have impaired her concentration and road sense.
"However, I think Ahmed departed from the standard of a reasonable and competent driver," added the judge.
Ahmed was fined £250 with £300 costs and his licence endorsed with six points. "I don't think I need to ban you from driving," concluded the judge.

Vicky, from Great Harwood, was in her second year at the city's university and had been on her way home after a `lively' night out.

She and four friends had been drinking before and after attending a Lily Allen concert in Manchester.
The group ended up in a kebab shop and just before the tragedy she had been play-fighting and fell over on the pavement, the court heard.