THE prosecution of a lorry driver accused of killing a pedestrian in a rush-hour accident was abandoned yesterday after evidence cleared him of criminal responsibility.

Brian Lawton walked free from Teesside Crown Court when a formal not guilty verdict was recorded on a charge of causing death by careless driving on the second day of his trial.

Prosecutors offered no evidence against the 53-year-old after witnesses to the collision, in Darlington, were unable to say where the victim was when she was struck.

Heather Bauld, 60, suffered a heart attack and injuries to her chest after she was dragged beneath the wheels of Mr Lawton’s articulated truck in November 2009.

Mr Lawton, of Gerbera Drive, Rogerstone, South Wales, told police he had not seen Mrs Bauld and was unaware there had been an accident.

Prosecutors said the only way the experienced driver could have failed to see Mrs Bauld was if he was not keeping a proper lookout as he turned left into Haughton Road.

Reconstructions of the accident showed that a roadside shrub could have obscured his view, and some evidence suggested that Mrs Bauld may have been crouching at the time.

After two witnesses told the court they could not be sure where she was or what happened, Judge Michael Taylor asked prosecutors to look again at the case.

Yesterday, after talks with Mrs Bauld’s family, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to drop the case.

Judge Taylor described the decision as quite proper, saying he was far from certain what had happened, but that Mr Lawton should not be held criminally responsible.

He said: “I have no criticism of this matter being brought to court. When there is a death, it is often better that these issues are raised in public. You often hear criticism that when there is a death, it is brushed under the carpet.

“I am sure it has caused agony for the family and the friends of the deceased, and I am sure there has been consultation with them.

“This has been hanging over the head of the defendant for a long period of time.”