An elderly pedestrian had to have her leg amputated after she was run over by a teen driver and dragged along the road in an accident at Fairy Meadow, a Wollongong court heard yesterday.
Kieran James Scott was turning right when he hit the 72-year-old woman, trapping her leg under a tyre and dragging her for a short distance.
The accident left the elderly woman with multiple cuts and scratches and a significant leg wound, Wollongong Local Court was told.
Scott, of Oak Flats, was working at a building site on Vereker Street on June 28 when his boss asked him to grab some fast food for his workmates, a police statement before the court said.
The 18-year-old drove north along the street about 9.45am, travelling just a few metres before he stopped his car at the Hamilton Street intersection to give way to a vehicle heading in the opposite direction.
The victim, who was returning from a walk to the nearby shops, was crossing Hamilton Street when Scott made a right-hand turn and hit her.
The woman was trapped under the vehicle until police and ambulance officers arrived on the scene and managed to free her.
She was taken to Wollongong Hospital, where her left leg had to be amputated.
Scott, who pleaded guilty to negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, told police he saw the woman just moments before hitting her.
He said the sun may have been in his eyes.
Defence solicitor Glenn Henniker acknowledged the accident was awful, telling the court Scott still had difficulty understanding how it had occurred but suspected the oncoming vehicle may have obscured his vision.
Mr Henniker said his client had lost his job after the accident and was not sleeping well as he was concerned about the victim's injuries.
Magistrate Les Mabbutt ordered Scott to serve 150 hours of community service and disqualified him from driving for two years.