A 67-year-old man has admitted causing death by careless driving after a crash near Southern Cross, in Portslade.
Owen Foss, of Downsway, Southwick, pleaded guilty to causing the death of 44-year-old Ronnie Herriot in March last year.
Foss changed his plea at a hearing at Hove Crown Court on Monday (27 November), having previously denied the charge.
A jury was scheduled to try the case on Monday 18 December, with the trial expected to last three or four days.
On Monday, Judge Jeremy Gold imposed an interim driving ban and set a date for Foss to be sentenced – on Thursday 25 January.
The crash happened at about 8.15pm on Friday 11 March 2022 in Old Shoreham Road between the A293 Link Road and the Southern Cross traffic lights, at the Trafalgar Road and Locks Hill crossroads.
Mr Herriot was at the crossing near Portslade Library, close to the bottom of Foredown Drive, when he was hit by Foss in a silver Vauxhall Corsa.
At a previous hearing, Richard Milne, prosecuting, told the court that the speed limit was 30mph on the stretch of road where the crash happened.
The court was told that Mr Herriot was crossing the road by Victoria Park and that the van in front of Foss stopped.
Foss undertook the van and was travelling faster than the speed limit for the road when he hit Mr Herriot.
The day after the crash, Sussex Police said that Mr Herriot was pronounced dead at the scene as the force appealed for witnesses and footage.
At Brighton Magistrates’ Court in May, Victoria Grey, prosecuting, said: “The crown would say this case falls outside the magistrates’ sentencing powers and is not suitable for summary (magistrates’ court) trial.”
The maximum punishment is five years in prison, with the Sentencing Council guidelines permitting judges to impose a community order in some cases.
Foss also faces a driving ban for at least a year.
Speeding is a very common issue from my experience in Brighton. I witness it a lot from all sorts of drivers and vehicles. I bet could go down Edward Street at any point in the day and I would see at least one vehicle who is doing 30mph instead of 20mph, alongside people failing to understand the hours of operation of the bus lane.
I had someone pull up next to me for having a go for using the bus lane on a Sunday a few months back, and told them about the hours of operation. He replies saying the signage isn’t very clear. I point out the five or so large blue signs at every junction along that stretch of road.
I do worry sometimes at the average level – I’d love to run a campaign on updating people’s knowledge about driving. I’m not perfect either, and when I did my advanced driving, I had loads of bad habits I had accumulated over just a few years of driving myself.
Aways remembered, never forgotten, god bless you Ron.