A mini-cab driver was cleared of blame by a jury on Friday in relation to the tragic death of a pedestrian - struck just after midnight at a notorious accident blackspot.
Syed-Ajamal Syedzadah, 29, (pictured) of Clarence Road, Croydon had just exited the Wellesley Road underpass when his vehicle hit Manchester man James Worthe as he crossed the duel carriageway.
The pedestrian - who had consumed up to a dozen pints of Guinness during a night out with a friend - suffered fractures to his ribs, spine, skull and face, causing brain trauma and a collapsed lung.
Syedzadah had pleaded not guilty at Croydon Crown Court to causing the death of Mr. Worthe on January 23, last year by driving without due care and attention and was found not guilty by the jury.
The court heard there had been a meeting in a private room between the defendant and Mr. Worthe's family within the building, which was hoped would go some way to healing the wounds of the tragedy.
Prosecutor Mr. Philip Rule told the court Syedzadah, who had been driving a mini-cab for over a year, was travelling to the Jury's Inn hotel at 12.30am to collect a fare.
Mr. Worthe, who was working in London, had been watching football with a friend in a pub half a mile away from the tragedy.
The pair were seen walking and singing in the street afterwards and Mr. Worthe, whose blood alcohol level was equivalent to three times the drink-drive limit, decided to cross the road alone.
"He crossed the road where he should not have been," explained Mr. Rule. "It was the head of Mr. Worthe that struck the windscreen and his body struck the bonnet and the roof."
A police accident investigator estimated Syedzadeh's speed at the time of impact as between 40mph-50mph.
When quizzed the defendant told police he tried to brake to avoid the collision on the road, which has a 30mph limit.
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