The driver of the coach which crashed off the viaduct at the bottom of Brassknocker Hill, while carrying US rock back Baroness, has been fined £365.
Courtesy of @AndyLHoward
Norman Markus did not attend Bath Magistrates’ Court, but his lawyer pleaded guilty for him in his absence, for the charges of careless driving and using a vehicle with defective brakes.
Further charges relating to dangerous driving were dropped against him.
The court heard how Markus is still recovering from the crash in Germany, and as he no longer has an income his parents will be paying the fine.
Being at the front of the coach when it crashed, Markus suffered serious leg and pelvic injuries.
Markus was charged with using the coach with defective breaks after admitting knowing they were defective, despite having taken them to a garage in Germany to be fixed.
Prosecuting, Jeremy Oliver, said: “He had no further trouble with the brakes and had driven through Europe to England, across England, and there hadn’t been a problem until the slightly ill-judged decision to use sat-nav to drive to Southampton using that very steep hill.”
Markus was fined £265 for careless driving and £100 for using defective brakes. He was also ordered to pay costs of £35 and a victim surcharge of £26.
Chief Inspector Yannis Georgiou, of Avon and Somerset’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “We fully investigated the circumstances of this serious incident on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service and we respect the decision of the courts.”
Baroness recovering in the RUH. © Baroness
