Mercedes van driver on trial for killing Leeds woman said he could 'not have done anything different'

Giving evidence at Leeds Crown Court, Vitalijus Satilo fought back tears as he described the moment his Mercedes Sprinter van collided with Susan Taylor on Park Crescent, Rothwell, in 2021.

The 39-year-old is standing trial after denying causing her death by careless driving.

Mrs Taylor, 63, had been returning home from a walk and was just yards from her home on Park Crescent on the afternoon of December 1. At the same time, Satilo had been delivering a parcel to an address on the street.

Mrs Taylor had moved onto the road at one point to avoid a dog walker, but it was not certain if she had moved back onto the pavement, then back onto the road, or remained in the road.

The Crown’s case is that Satilo neglected to check his blind spot when reversing along the narrow street.

Quizzed by his defence barrister, Richard Dawson asked Satilo if he remembered seeing Mrs Taylor or the dog walker moments before he got back into his van. He replied: “On the road, definitely not. If they were not on the road, it was not a hazard.”

Asked if he used his mirrors when reversing, he answered: “Of course.” He added: “There was nothing behind at all. It was a completely empty road. Only just one car was parked on the road.”

When his van became stuck as he tried to reverse, he told the court he thought a tree branch had fallen and was blocking his path, but got out to find a motionless Mrs Taylor laid in the road.

Fighting back tears, he said: “It was very quiet, there were no noises. I put two fingers on her neck to check for her pulse, but there was nothing. My hands were shaking.”

Interviewed by police the next day, he opted not to have a solicitor present. Asked why by Mr Dawson, he said: “I wanted to make it clear what had happened.”

Mr Dawson asked if he could have done anything different, he replied: “Nothing at all differently.”

He earlier told the court that he covers 60,000 miles a year, has a clean driving licence and no previous convictions. He said he had made deliveries to Park Crescent around 10 times before and said he had reversed out of the street each time. He said it would be possible to turn around but difficult because of bollards at the end of the street.

During cross examination, prosecutor Katherine Robinson questioned how Satilo could not have seen the dog walker at least, because he would have been close to her between leaving the delivery address and climbing back into the van.

He replied by saying he had looked for hazards on the road, and reiterated: “I would have done exactly the same stuff. There’s nothing more I could have done.”

The court previously heard that Satilo, of Woodville Court, Wakefield, was a self-employed delivery driver who contracted himself out to Yodel courier service, attending their depot in Selby each day to load up with deliveries.

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On that day, he had been at the depot at 7.15am and collected 240 parcels. Satilo entered Park Crescent at 1.06pm to make a delivery, then got back into his van, captured on CCTV by a nearby property. Mrs Taylor was also seen walking past the van.

Satilo then began reversing along the road. He later told police he had looked along the street to ensure it was clear, prior to setting off and checking his mirrors. He then heard a “noise and a bump”, which he thought was a parcel falling in the back of his van.

He got out to find Mrs Taylor lying motionless. In shock, he raised the alarm with residents on the street and people came to her aid as 999 was called.

Despite efforts by local residents and then arriving paramedics, they were unable to save her. CCTV showed that Satilo’s average reversing speed, calculated from when the van was still in view of the CCTV, was around 7.5 to 8mph.

The court also heard that a reversing camera had been fitted, but it had been disconnected by an engineer in favour of a dash cam.

The trial continues and is expected to last this week.