AMD driver jailed for causing fatal accident

A pensioner described as 'virtually blind' has been jailed for causing a fatal crash while driving with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Despite having the condition in both eyes, 66-year-old Trevor Knowles continued driving after he was diagnosed in February 2007 and referred to an eye specialist at University Hospital Birmingham according to the Daily Telegraph.

Warwick Crown court heard that driving at 30mph, Knowles knocked down 78-year-old pedestrian William Florence at a pedestrian crossing in Solihull in December 2008, hitting him without even braking after failing to see him or the red light.

Knowles, a retired businessman, was jailed for 16 months after admitting death by careless driving. Judge Christopher Hodson told him: 'Because in my judgment your deficient eye sight contributed to the accident and your failure to see the road, this case falls in the higher categories for sentencing.'