An elderly driver has avoided jail after killing an 83-year-old woman as she crossed the road.
Partially deaf Ozdemir Zia, 77, hit Edna McLean when she was crossing Vincent Road outside Woolwich Arsenal station in southeast London on September 11, 2021.
Zia, who uses a hearing loop, had been allowed to continue work despite a previous conviction for crashing into another bus and six other incidents of bad driving.
Mrs McLean was taken to hospital by air ambulance but never regained consciousness and died two days after the collision.
Zia, of Weyman Road, Kidbrooke, denied causing Mrs McLean’s death by careless driving but was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey.
He was sentenced on Friday to a 15-month jail sentence, suspended for two years by judge Nigel Lickley KC.
‘You have heard what has been said and how your behaviour has been regarded,’ the judge said.
‘Ms Mclean was the core of the family. You are responsible for the pain the family is experiencing and will continue to experience.
Ozdemir Zia (pictured) was given a 15-month jail sentence, suspended for two years
‘The weather was fine and dry. The overall traffic volume was said to be light.’
Mr Lickley told Zia that Ms Mclean was ‘visible’ and ‘there to be seen’.
Zia’s view was obscured by another bus when he began turning his double decker right into Vincent Road.
He saw the pensioner at the last second and slammed on his brakes but was not fast enough.
Prosecutor Nadeem Holland said he should have shifted in his chair to eliminate his blind spot and waited until the bus had moved away before completing the manoeuvre.
‘You told police you did not see Ms McLean initially, when you did you braked,’ Mr Lickley continued.
‘The reason you did not see Ms McLean is you did not take care. In short, you failed to mitigate the blind spots created by the structure of the bus.
The judge pointed to the fact that the features of the bus’s design create blind spots for drivers and this risk can be mitigated by the driver checking the blind spot.
Zia has a previous conviction for crashing into another bus
‘The available CCTV reveals you made no movement of your head to mitigate the blind spot. If you had I am satisfied you would have seen Ms McLean and stopped.
‘There is no criticism of your speed, you did look in your mirrors and you had passengers on your bus to consider.’
In a pre-sentence report dated February 20, 2025, Zia accepted he should have taken more care on the day in question.
‘You have expressed what is said to be genuine remorse. As the report states, you will have to live with the consequences of your actions for the rest of your life.’
Mr Lickley said Zia’s previous conviction for crashing into another bus was a ‘significant aggravating factor’.
‘Ms McLean was a vulnerable road user and there were passengers in your vehicle.’
Although the judge said Zia made a ‘momentary but serious error’, he deemed him not a risk or danger to the public.
‘You did not intend to hurt her, let alone kill her. I accept you had other things to consider as you drove towards Ms McLean.’
Vincent Road outside Woolwich Arsenal Station, where the collision happened
Zia did not give evidence but told police at the scene: ‘People do not always look before crossing the road.’
The jury was not told about Zia’s previous conviction for careless driving in 2018 when he injured passengers by crashing into another bus.
He was fired by Stagecoach, one of the operators of Transport for London buses, because of his conviction.
But he was back behind the wheel again after he applied for a job with Go Ahead, a different provider.
It was said that Go Ahead did not know about his previous conviction.
There were six other incidents of bad driving reported to his employer but Zia kept his job.
Mrs McLean’s widower Clarence McLean and her son Patrick Gordon both made statements to the court.
‘She loved her children and grandchildren deeply and was a popular woman who had an abundance of friends,’ said Mr McLean.
Zia’s view was obscured by another bus when he began turning his double decker right (File image)
‘My wife was someone who loved life and we all miss her so much.
‘During the first two years after her death, I would dream of her almost every night. Even now I still have regular dreams of her. It has completely disrupted my life.
‘When that bus driver hit her, it was as if my family were also hit.
‘I know death is always hard to come to terms with but it hurts more when it is not from natural causes.
‘I don’t know if I can forgive this man because I will have to live the rest of my life knowing her death could have been avoided.’
Mrs McLean’s son told the court his mother came to England in the Windrush era and made ‘a wonderful life’ for herself and her family.
‘My mother had strong values instilled in us from an early age, treating people well and having compassion for others,’ Patrick Gordon said.
‘Zia has shown no compassion, he has never given any indication he is sorry for causing our mother’s death.
The Woolwich Arsenal Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station
‘Not once has the accused reached out with sympathy. They have behaved as if nothing happened.
‘There have been numerous chances for them to show empathy or a conscience but they have done nothing.
‘Birthdays, Mother’s day, Easter and Christmas are now days of sadness for my family when they used to bring such joy.
‘There is no closure for me and my family. We will never recover from her killing.
‘Today I want you, Mr Zia, to understand the absolute devastation you have caused our family. I hold you responsible for her death.’
Witness Nick Poyntz had heard the noise of the bus hitting Mrs Mclean and saw her ‘body travelling through the air.’
Jurors were shown CCTV of Mrs McLean falling onto the double yellow lines before members of the public rushed to help her.
Mr Holland, prosecuting, said: ‘The defendant was interviewed at the scene by PC Bukenya.
Zia was fired by Stagecoach, one of the operators of Transport for London buses, because of his conviction (File image)
‘He said he had not seen Mrs McLean until immediately before the collision at which point he applied the brakes.’
Experts reached the view that the defendant began turning right while his view into Vincent Road was still obscured by the bus.
He was well below the speed limit and his speed was ‘not inappropriate’.
Mr Holland said that although the pillar inside the bus would have obscured the driver’s view, this could have been mitigated by the driver moving his head and upper body.
‘Having said that, such movements would not have completely eliminated the blind spot.
‘It is the prosecution’s case that the CCTV demonstrates the defendant’s driving fell below the standard one would expect of the reasonable, careful and competent driver.
‘He did not take sufficient steps to cater for the possibility of pedestrians crossing the road as he turned right.’
A report from an investigator at the scene read: ‘I discovered that the blind spot caused by both the offside mirrors and a curb was extremely obtrusive and that even with the amount of body movement shown, I was still unable to eliminate the blind spot.’
‘The offside mirror and blind spot required large movements of the upper body and head to fully alleviate it.’
But Zia could have improved his vision by making exaggerated body movements ‘none of which were seen on the CCTV camera.’
Zia was also given 12 rehabilitation activity requirement days, an obligatory suspended licence for three years and he must take an extended driving test if he wants to drive again.
