Hampstead dog walker 'killed by short-sighted driver who wasn't wearing glasses'

 
Laurence Gunn: died after being hit by car while out walking his dog Misty on Hampstead Heath
Journalist Laurence Gunn died after being hit by car while out walking his dog Misty.\n\nCOPYRIGHT UNKNOWN/Images supplied by ES Newsdesk
Sian Boyle22 October 2013
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A man walking his dog was killed after being mown down on a pedestrian crossing by a short-sighted motorist who was not wearing his glasses, a court has heard.

Journalist Laurence Gunn, 32, died after being “hurled” in the air when he was struck by 23-year-old Mohammed Rashid’s Ford Focus on Hampstead Heath, north London, as he and a friend walked their dogs.

Mr Gunn, from Maida Vale, landed on the other side of the road and was knocked unconscious.

He was taken to hospital but died the next day from head injuries.

Rashid was unable to read a registration plate 25 feet away when police asked him to do so after the collision, in March last year. He admitted he had not worn his glasses in over a year and did not know where they were.

Rashid was not over the speed limit and had not been drinking, Blackfriars crown court heard.

Richard Scott, prosecuting, said: “It was dark that evening, but this was a brightly lit road with a clearly marked pedestrian crossing.”

Rashid, of Kensal Rise, denies one count of causing death by dangerous driving.

The trial continues.

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