A VAN driver killed a man, put a six-year-old child in a coma and severely injured a four-year-old boy when he hit a horse and cart, York Crown Court heard.

Peter Scott Robinson, 47, had at least 18 seconds in which to see the vehicle ahead of him on the A63 dual carriageway near the B1222 near South Milford, said Tim Capstick, prosecuting.

But he crashed into the back of the cart throwing out the two men and three young boys. Cart driver Rodney Smith, 26, died at the scene. He hit the van’s bonnet before falling onto the carriageway.

The crash happened shortly before 8pm on August 6, 2015.

The youngest boy, aged four, suffered a suspected fractured skull and broken leg and was permanently scarred. A six-year-old boy was in a coma for up to a week with swelling on the brain, an eight-year-old boy was also injured and the 50-year-old man with them suffered several broken bones.

Robinson told police he had been dazzled by the setting sun and had put down his visor, but when police checked his van shortly after the crash, both visors were in the up position, said Mr Capstick.

The Honorary Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty QC, said as a professional driver, Robinson should have known to slow down or stop when a low sun made visibility difficult.

“None of that you did, you drove on and drove causing catastrophic consequences to others,” he said.

He jailed Robinson for 18 months and banned him from driving for 30 months after he is released from prison. He must also retake his driving test.

Robinson, of Ingleton Drive, Leeds, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and causing death whilst driving a car without insurance because he was on a business trip in a car with private use cover only.

His barrister Alex Menary said: “It is a familiar set of circumstances where tractors and cyclists are able to use the road and motorists fail to anticipate that others in the road may be more vulnerable in the road than they are.”

Robinson was remorseful for his action and had not deliberately gone into the back of the cart, the court was told.

He had spent almost his entire career driving many thousands of miles without problems.

York Press:

Mr Capstick said Robinson was returning from a business journey delivering golf balls to London.

The collision occurred about 700 metres after the road crested a small rise, a distance that a car travelling at the speed limit would cover in 18 seconds. There was no suggestion that Robinson was speeding.