A MAN has changed his plea and admitted causing the death of another motorist in a crash.
Christopher Dalton, from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving on March 26 last year in Woodstock Road, Kidlington.
He initially pleaded not guilty but, after discussions between his solicitors and the Crown Prosecution Service, changed his plea yesterday at Oxford Crown Court.
The other driver, Paul Penney, died in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, on April 7 last year.
Dalton failed to stop at a red traffic light, which the prosecution now accepts he didn’t see.
Judge Patrick Eccles told him that despite the CPS agreeing with his version of events he could still be facing a custodial sentence.
He said: “This was a very serious offence and the court has to consider the consequences of the crime, not just the culpability.”
He added there would be an interim driving disqualification as the defendant would almost certainly lose his licence.
Dalton’s defence barrister argued he should be allowed to keep his driving licence in the short term otherwise he would lose his job, but Judge Ecceles said this was not in “the public interest”.
Dalton will be sentenced on June 20.
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