Jennifer June Hutchison pleads guilty in ACT court to negligent driving occasioning death of man in Lyneham

Jennifer June Hutchison, of Hughes, fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday when she pleaded guilty to negligent driving occasioning death.

Facts tendered to the court state that Hutchison, 62, was driving a Toyota Yaris about 5.15pm on June 18 when she struck the man, who was using a walking cane on the pedestrian crossing near the intersection of Brigalow and Hall streets.

Crash data showed she was travelling on Brigalow Street, limited to 50km/h, at 64km/h five seconds before striking the victim.

At the point of collision, Hutchison's car was at 32km/h and the impact caused the man to wrap over the bonnet.

His head struck the windscreen before he fell off the vehicle.

Witnesses included a woman who was undergoing a driving lesson at the time and a man and his two teenage sons.

When Hutchison parked her car nearby and went to the scene, a witness asked her if she was OK.

"I didn't see him," she replied.

When police arrived, Hutchison told them she had been driving with her car's headlights on and did not see the pedestrian.

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Police later obtained CCTV footage from a nearby residence that showed the victim stopping at the crossing's edge for 17.5 seconds before entering it.

Paramedics took the 84-year-old man, who sustained serious injuries including to his head, to Canberra Hospital for emergency treatment, but he died six days later.

The incident marked the sixth fatality on ACT roads at the time in 2021.

A mechanical inspection of the Yaris showed no indications that it had any mechanical or structural failure that may have contributed to the collision.

Hutchison was issued a summons to face court following a probe by ACT Policing's major collision investigation team.

On Thursday, defence lawyer Andrew Byrnes said the matter had been resolved with the guilty plea, which she formally entered.

Mr Byrnes sought a six-week adjournment for a pre-sentence report and a psychological report.

The court heard sentencing was estimated to take 1-2 hours, which would include evidence and a victim impact statement.

Magistrate Margaret Hunter set July 28 for sentencing.

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