A GREENOCK man has been acquitted of driving carelessly and causing an incident which left a theatre charge nurse with two broken feet.

Vincent O’Neill, 39, was charged with driving without due care and attention on Kempock Street in Gourock on October 23, 2022.

It was alleged that he failed to maintain proper lookout and collided with a pedestrian, who suffered serious injury.

Mr O’Neill stood trial at Greenock Sheriff Court on Thursday, with the court being shown CCTV footage of the incident.

In the video, Mr O’Neill’s car is seen to travel along Kempock Street before turning right to loop back on to Lower Kempock Street – braking as he does so.

Greenock Telegraph: The incident took place on Kempock StreetThe incident took place on Kempock Street (Image: Street View)

As the vehicle approaches the bend, the front driver’s side of the car strikes a man who was in the process of crossing the road.

The pedestrian gave evidence before Sheriff James Varney, noting that it was a dark and wet night.

The witness, who was walking home from a shop at around 6.45pm, insisted that he did check for traffic before crossing.

He was taken to the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley for an X-ray on his left foot, which was broken in three places.

A few days later, he attended Inverclyde Royal Hospital where two breaks were discovered in his right foot.

He said: “I have permanent muscle damage in my left foot which means I can’t move my toes, except my big toe.”

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The trial also heard evidence from a police officer who attended the scene on the night.

He noted that a roadside breath test was carried out, with a ‘visibly upset’ Mr O’Neill returning a zero reading.

The officer said: “He briefly said he wasn’t sure what happened.

“He wasn’t sure if the pedestrian had stepped out in front of him or if he was on the road.”

Police seized CCTV footage of the incident from a nearby restaurant, with the constable saying he did not deem Mr O’Neill to be ‘flying’ or driving at ‘excessive speed’ before the collision.

In his evidence, Mr O’Neill explained that he had been collecting food from a takeaway on Kempock Street and had only travelled around 20 to 30 yards before his car struck the pedestrian.

He estimated that he was driving as slow as five miles per hour at the moment of impact.

Mr O’Neill said: “I’m even a bit upset now listening to the guy.

“He’s got damage now – you don’t like to hear that.”

Sheriff Varney ruled that the case against O’Neill was not proven.

He said: “I have come to the conclusion that this had been an unfortunate accident.”