A 73-year-old woman who died after being hit by a bus as she crossed a road in Newport city centre, could have been in the driver’s blindspot in the seconds before the collision, a jury has been told.

Rashida Ali died after being hit by the bus, driven by Nigel Davies, then 28, on the afternoon of Friday September 23.

The incident happened metres beyond the pedestrian crossing outside the Queen’s Hotel, at the bottom of Bridge Street.

Barry Seward, a consultant forensic accident investigator, told the jury in Davies’ trial at Newport Crown Court - on a charge of causing death by careless driving - that in his opinion, Mrs Ali could have been in the blindspot of the bus, created by pillars supporting the windscreen and windows, while she was crossing the road.

The jury was shown a series of photographs and CCTV images in which Mrs Ali is seen crossing the road as the bus pulls away from the nearby pedestrian crossing.

Mr Seward said that, based on where she is in the road - in relation to the front window and driver’s side front of the bus - she could have been obscured from Davies’ view as he took the bus around the corner, a virtual hairpin, into North Street.

He said it is important to bear in mind that both she and the bus are moving, meaning she could have stayed in that blindspot, despite it narrowing.

“In my opinion, she probably was,” he said.

Earlier, Sergeant Robert Witherall, of the Gwent Police forensic collision investigation unit, told the court he thought it “highly unlikely” that Mrs Ali would have been in the blindspot at all times.

But, asked by judge Peter Heywood if it was a possibility that Davies may not have seen her at any stage, Sergeant Witherall replied: “It is a remote one, yes.”

Mr Seward also stressed that Davies’ attention would have been on a man who was using the pedestrian crossing - for whom he slowed almost to a halt - at the time Mrs Ali began to cross the road beyond.

He also said that due to the way a bus has to be manoeuvred to take corners such as this, Davies would have been checking his mirrors and “looking at everything” in what is a busy area.

Mr Seward disagreed with an assertion from prosecuting counsel Alex Greenwood, who said: “The reality is, the driver would have seen her if he had been paying attention to the road.”

Davies, now 29, of Lewis Street, Ystrad Mynach, has pleaded not guilty to the charge against him.

Proceeding.