A grandmother-of-12 has been banned from the road after reversing at speed into an elderly couple before colliding with a jewellery shop in Blairgowrie.
Ian and Rozanna Rouse were knocked to the ground when 69-year-old driver Bozena Kopaczka accidentally accelerated into them while backing into a parking space in Blairgowrie town centre.
Mrs Rouse suffered a broken leg and was told she may even require a new knee.
Kopaczka said she couldn’t explain what happened, but reckons her foot may have slipped while manoeuvring into the space.
The pensioner’s car came to a halt after striking the front of the Victor and Sons jewellery store, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
Kopaczka, of City Road, Dundee, appeared in the dock and admitted causing serious injury by careless driving in Allan Street on October 6 last year.
Couple were knocked to the ground in Blairgowrie
Prosecutor Stuart Duncan told the court: “At about 12.30pm, Mr and Mrs Rouse were walking on the pavement at the locus, approaching the jewellery store.
“At this time the accused, in her vehicle, headed into an empty parking space outside the shop.
“The complainers were just ahead of the rear of the vehicle when she started to reverse.”
Mr Duncan said: “As she was reversing, for some unknown reason, she upped her speed and mounted the onside kerb.
“She collided with the front of the car parked behind.
“The vehicle continued to reverse and collided with Ian and Rozanna Rouse, causing them to fall to the ground.
“Thereafter, the car collided with the front of the jewellery store.”
Emergency services were scrambled to the scene.
“The accused immediately got out of her vehicle and went back to where the complainers were lying on the ground,” the fiscal depute said.
“Mr and Mrs Rouse were tended to by paramedics before being taken to Ninewells Hospital for precautionary reasons due to their age.”
He said: “Mrs Rouse suffered an upper right leg fracture which required surgery.
“There was a suggestion she would require a knee replacement.”
The court heard she was “off her feet” for about eight weeks.
Mr Rouse was not seriously hurt.
Gran had an unblemished driving record
Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said: “She has been driving for 50 years and has never had an accident.
“She still thinks about this every day.”
He said his client was unable to explain what went wrong, but suspects she put her foot on the accelerator rather than the brake.
“She pled guilty by letter at the first opportunity,” he said.
Sheriff William Wood deferred sentence for background reports.
“This is quite a serious offence,” he told Kopaczka as he handed her an interim driving ban.
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