Mechanic cleared over fatal crash on A49 in Shropshire
A man has been cleared by a jury of causing death by careless driving.
Mechanic Carl Whitfield had been accused of causing the death of Sebastian Ward, 32, by careless driving after a Vauxhall Movano van he was driving hit the back of Mr Ward's Ford Ka on August 26, 2015, but a jury at Shrewsbury Crown Court found him not guilty yesterday.
Mr Ward, of Chapel Lane, Wem, was waiting to turn right on the A49 north of Shrewsbury when the crash happened. He died instantly when his car was struck from behind.
He was returning to his business, Seb Ward Car Sales, when the accident happened at Acton Bridge on the A49 between Hadnall and Preston Brockhurst just after 3.15pm.
Earlier this week jurors were told there had been a 'catastrophic collision' between Mr Ward's car and another Vauxhall Movano van coming in the opposite direction.
The driver of the second van, George Woolley, and his wife, a passenger in the van,suffered chest and rib injuries, as a result of the accident.
Mr Whitfield, 41, of St Peter's Close, Moreton-on-Lugg, Hereford, suffered a broken bone in his hand and some cuts and bruising.
The court heard this week that Mr Whitfield, a mechanic from Hereford, had been working on the Vauxhall van and was on a test drive when the collision happened.
