No Blame In Norman Dean's Road Death

The death of a man who was hit by a taxi on Mont Les Vaux in St Brelade has been recorded as an accident.

An inquest has heard that 48 year old Norman Dean stepped into the path of oncoming traffic while walking from Miller's Bar at Les Quennevais.

It happened near the old Shell Garden, between St Aubin's Village and Woodbine Corner on Sunday 29 November 2020.

The collision occurred at around 8:15pm, with the passenger of the taxi calling 999 to report it.

Mr Dean suffered serious head injuries and died a short time later at the General Hospital's Emergency Department.

The driver said he didn't see Mr Dean before the collision, telling officers 'several areas of the road were extremely dark'.

During the police investigation, several motorists came forward as witnesses to say they had to avoid a man who was 'visibly drunk' and 'staggering in the middle of the road'.

Jersey Police said there was no evidence the taxi driver was driving dangerously or impaired in any way.

During the inquest, Mr Dean's sister - Amanda Bridge - asked how it was possible for neither the driver nor passenger in the taxi to see her brother walking in the road before he was hit.

One of the police's forensic investigators said the collision happened on a bend and at the darkest point in between two lamp posts, spaced around 40 metres apart.

Mrs Bridge called on Jersey's authorities to improve street lighting on Mont Les Vaux, to avoid other pedestrians suffering the same fate in future.

The Relief Coronor, Advocate Cyril Whelan, said there 'was absolutely nothing the driver could have done' to avoid Mr Dean.

He added that people tend to have a 'natural reluctance' to report concerns to police, for fear of getting someone into trouble - but if any of the witnesses who had seen Mr Dean in the road before the accident had alerted the police, Honorary officers at St Brelade Parish Hall would have been 'moments away' and may have been able to assist him.

Summing up, Advocate Whelan said it was 'absolutely tragic' for a man in the prime of his life to have died, and thoughts should also be spared for the taxi driver, who although not to blame 'has to live with what happened for the rest of his days'.