A pensioner has admitted causing the death of a mobility scooter rider in an accident at South Molton.
Ronald Webber, aged 80, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving after the prosecution at Exeter Crown Court dropped an accusation of causing death by dangerous driving.
Webber, of Parklands, South Molton, admitted causing the death of William Lock in an accident on the B3137 New Road at South Molton on January 11 last year.
Retired minicab driver Mr Lock, aged 86, known as Bill, died in the North Devon Hospital, Barnstaple, two days after the accident in which his scooter was hit by a car near his home in South Molton.
Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, adjourned the case to allow the probation service to prepare a pre sentence report and for the prosecution to obtain victim impact statements from Mr Lock's family.
Webber was bailed to return for a sentencing hearing provisionally fixed for February 6.
Grandfather Mr Lock, originally from Molland, was a popular character around South Molton, where he was a regular customer in cafes and still enjoyed a game of darts.
He moved to South Molton to be near his three daughters after he became a widower on the death of his wife Doreen in 1995. He had lived there for 13 years when he died.
In a tribute issued after his death his family said: "Bill was a much loved father, granddad and father-in-law, and lived life to the full. We are devastated that he was so tragically taken from us and our lives will never be the same again."
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