Stephen Young, 67, was on his way to pick up a prescription for his seriously ill wife when he was pushed off his mobility scooter by Ann Marie Stephens, inflicting fatal injuries, York Crown Court heard.
Tom Jackson, prosecuting, said Mr Stevens reached the roundabout and Mr Young began to cross the road before turning right towards Mr Young. He was at least halfway across the road when the collision occurred.
Stevens told police at the scene and later that the accident was not his fault and that Young “came out of nowhere.”
But video footage showed Young stopping his car and making sure the road was clear before crossing at the designated crossing space.
Mr Young's daughter Michelle said in a statement read out in court: “She disobeyed multiple traffic rules. If she had followed even one of the rules, my father's death could have been prevented.”
“My father was not only a husband, father, grandfather, brother, friend, uncle, but also a pillar of support. The foundation of our family crumbled without him. We were destroyed. .”
Mr Stevens, 34, whose address cannot be released for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving. She was sentenced to eight months in prison and banned from driving for 15 months. The court heard she had a previous conviction for speeding.
Judge Sean Morris, of York, said: “You chose to ignore the roundabout. It was a deliberate decision and it was also clear that you did so without checking that there were no obstacles ahead.
“This was shocking driving. He was a vulnerable road user and you tried to blame him for that.”
Mr Jackson said Mr Stevens was traveling down Valley Road in Northallerton at 2.20pm on March 9, 2023, when he came to a mini-roundabout, where he turned right onto Greenhouse Dyke Road.
Instead of going around the roundabout in the correct direction, she went to the right, essentially driving in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, Mr Young had already begun crossing Greenhausike Road from the opposite end of the roundabout.
Stevens drove his Citroën C2 onto Greenhausyke Road, but was still on the wrong side of the road to some extent and his brake lights did not come on when he crashed.
Young suffered 13 broken ribs and other injuries, and died a few days later in hospital.
Harry Clawson said that for Stevens, she was the mother of six children and spent every day remembering what she had done.
The collision occurred at low speed and she stopped to help Mr Young after the collision.
Mr Crowson said she was a “sensitive and gentle” person and had a “curse” of having to come to terms with what she had done. “She had nightmares every night,” he said.
One of her children had major health problems and needed her mother's help. Ms Stevens had been a victim of “absolutely horrific” domestic violence in the past.
PC Amy Herrick, from North Yorkshire Police's Major Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Stevens' actions directly changed the lives of many people and ultimately caused Mr Young's death, but this is completely preventable. I was able to do it,” he said.
“Every driver has a huge responsibility when taking a motor vehicle onto the road. I urge people not to be complacent, to always drive safely and abide by the rules of the road.”
