A MOBILITY scooter rider was “there to be seen” immediately before he was involved in a fatal collision, a jury heard at York Crown Court.

Patrick O’Neill died after his mobility scooter and a Ford Fiesta driven by Mary Elizabeth Watson collided at the junction of Fulford Road and Hospital Fields Road.

Prosecution collision investigator expert Stephen Kirkbright claimed that Watson, 86, would have had nine seconds to see Mr O’Neill before an HGV obscured her view and five seconds after the HGV passed.

“I do believe he was there to be seen,” he said.

The defence claims Watson had less than four seconds to see Mr O’Neill from when he moved off the pavement onto a pedestrian crossing over the road and less than two seconds after the traffic light where she was waiting turned green.

Watson, of Wighill Lane, Tadcaster, denies causing Mr O’Neill’s death by careless driving.

Mr Kirkbright and defence collision investigator Steven Green agree that Watson was waiting at the stop line on Fulford Road for the traffic lights to change green so that she could continue her journey into York city centre on June 5, 2019, the jury heard.

While she was stationary, an HGV drove out of Hospital Fields Road, turned right and travelled towards the A64.

Mr O’Neill was on the opposite side of the road to her. He drove his mobility scooter onto the Puffin pedestrian crossing at the junction.

“He must have entered when the red man was illuminated for him,” the experts’ joint report says.

The experts agreed that Mr O’Neil was on the crossing when the lights turned green for Watson and she drove forward.

“Mr O’Neill drove towards a moving vehicle and collided with the side of the vehicle?” asked defence barrister Tom Gent.

“That is correct,” said Mr Kirkbright.

He disagreed with Mr Gent’s suggestion that Mr O’Neill’s action was the “overwhelming” cause of the collision.

The prosecution expert claimed that according to the Highway Code, drivers should check in all directions that the road is clear before setting off when a traffic light turns green and that Watson would have been able to see Mr O’Neill.

The defence barrister suggested that Mr O’Neill would have been obscured by the A post of Watson’s car, that is the part of the car frame between the windscreen and the driver’s door.

Mr Kirkbright disputed this, giving details about the width of the A post, the size of the mobility scooter, its distance from the car and the direction from which the mobility scooter was approaching.

The trial continues.