Six-year-old Lena 'killed by reversing Land Rover'
A six-year-old girl was killed when she was hit by a Land Rover as its driver attempted to reverse into a parking bay in West Bromwich, a court heard.
Lena Chalajczak ended up trapped under the vehicle after being struck as she walked behind it with her mother and brother to cross the road.
Driver Jamie Coote is accused of failing to check the area behind his car was clear before starting to reverse.
On the first day of his trial for causing death by careless driving, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Coote, aged 34, of Newhall Street, West Bromwich – who denies the charge – had stopped near Lyng Medical Centre in Lyng Lane after his partner said she needed to collect a prescription.
He came to halt alongside parking bays and a few seconds later began to reverse, unaware Lena and her family were behind his car, the court heard.
Lena, who went to Lodge Primary School, was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital after being hit in August 2014 but died from her injuries. Her mother Camilla was also hit but suffered only minor injuries.
Mother and daughter were seen holding hands before stepping into the road. Mr Howard Searle, prosecuting, told the court an investigation found there was a four-second window in which the family could have been seen behind Coote's Land Rover.
Mr Searle said: "An accident investigator analysed the scene and calculated a time period of four seconds that Lena and her family were in the roadway crossing the road from the kerb. That's four seconds that they could have been seen once they stepped into the road.
"He said there was a failure from Mr Coote in observing the family crossing the road behind his vehicle. The prosecution say he fell below careful and competent standards, he didn't make sufficient checks."
Off-duty police officer Detective Constable Robert Piper witnessed the incident.
He said: "My initial thought was it is going to hit them, what's it doing, why is it reversing?"
The trial continues.
