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Jury discharged in Mingwei Tan bus death trial | Jury discharged in Mingwei Tan bus death trial |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The jury in the trial of a bus driver accused of killing a student and dragging her body under his vehicle for half a mile has been discharged. | The jury in the trial of a bus driver accused of killing a student and dragging her body under his vehicle for half a mile has been discharged. |
Shahriar Firouzian, 52, had been charged with causing the death of Mingwei Tan by careless driving. | Shahriar Firouzian, 52, had been charged with causing the death of Mingwei Tan by careless driving. |
However, Blackfriars Crown Court heard there was no realistic prospect of a conviction, and a verdict of not guilty was formally entered by the judge. | However, Blackfriars Crown Court heard there was no realistic prospect of a conviction, and a verdict of not guilty was formally entered by the judge. |
Miss Tan was hit by a bus in Hampstead, north London, on 30 September 2010. | Miss Tan was hit by a bus in Hampstead, north London, on 30 September 2010. |
The 20-year-old Cambridge University medical student was dragged for half a mile under a vehicle, the court heard. | The 20-year-old Cambridge University medical student was dragged for half a mile under a vehicle, the court heard. |
Mr Firouzian, of Harrow Way, Watford, had denied causing death by careless driving, and the court was told he thought he had run over a bottle initially, and then thought he had hit a fox. | |
The bus driver's solicitor Chandrakant Solanki read a statement saying: "My client is very relieved that this case is now over. | |
"He is very conscious of the loss suffered by Miss Tan's family and friends. This whole matter has been a tragedy for all the parties concerned." | |
'Lost a daughter' | |
The court had been due to hear evidence from Mr Firouzian, but prosecutor Hamish Reid told jurors the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had conducted a review and decided not to proceed with the case. | |
"The Crown Prosecution Service are satisfied there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction and would not seek to take this any further," he said. | |
The judge told the jury that "no doubt there will be a review" into the case by the CPS. | |
"The prosecution have, rightly in this case, come to the conclusion that they cannot ask for a conviction on the evidence they have been able to place in front of you," he said. | |
Judge John Hillen added that in such a case focused on the defendant, it can be forgotten that "there is a family - not in this case who have been present in court - but who have lost a daughter, a sister". | |
A spokeswoman for the CPS said: "At the commencement of this trial we considered that there was a realistic prospect of conviction. | |
"During the course of the trial some key aspects of the prosecution evidence, particularly with regards to expert evidence, were undermined. | |
"This weakened the prosecution case and meant that we were unable to prove that Shahriar Firouzian had driven at a standard which was below that of a competent and careful driver. | |
"In line with our duty to keep cases under continuous review we have re-reviewed this case and concluded that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction." |
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