Former Brookside actor Louis Emerick Grant has pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury to two 12-year-old girls by careless or inconsiderate driving after hitting them with a car late last year.
Grant, 64, of Liscard in Wirral, who starred in the Liverpool-based soap opera as a taxi driver, caused serious injury to the two girls when they were hit by the car he was driving on Poulton Road in Wallasey on 2 October 2022.
He was driving his Honda in the direction of Wallasey Village as the two friends, who were heading to a local shop, started to cross Poulton Road at around 5.15pm.
The girls had reached the centre hatched markings in the middle of the road when Grant’s car is seen to cut the corner of the right-hand bend, enter the centre hatched markings and collide with them.
Both girls were seriously injured. One suffered a fractured leg and the other, a fractured leg and ankle, a broken nose, broken jaw and broken teeth.
Grant, 64, of Liscard in Wirral, who starred in the Liverpool-based soap opera as a taxi driver, caused serious injury to the two girls
Grant starred in long-running soap Brookside as Mick Johnson, a local taxi driver
Both were unable to return to school for several months after spending time in Alder Hey hospital and will also require further surgery.
The CPS said Grant was not seen to slow down or brake on the approach to the girls. The weather was dry and clear and there was good visibility, and his speed was described as ‘not excessive’.
He was breathalysed at the scene but there was no evidence that he had taken drink or drugs or that he had been using his mobile phone at the time of the collision.
He told officers that he had looked to his nearside but did not see the girls crossing ahead.
Mr Grant blamed the sun, but accepted that, if his vision was impaired, he should have reduced his speed.
He was wearing prescription glasses at the time which react to the sun. He apologised for this incident and has been fully cooperative throughout the investigation.
He was arrested and charged with two offences of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving and yesterday pleaded guilty at Wirral Magistrates’ Court.
He will be sentenced on June 21 at the same court.
District Crown Prosecutor Linda Melia, of CPS Mersey Cheshire, said: ‘This was an extremely distressing incident and the two girls suffered serious injuries as a result of what happened on that day.
‘Louis Emerick Grant was not speeding but admitted that he couldn’t see clearly because of the sun so he should have slowed down. The sun visor of the car was not down.
‘He has been fully cooperative and remorseful throughout the investigation and has apologised on numerous occasions. He has been in contact with both families and has apologised to them too. He tested negatively at the roadside for drink and drugs.
‘When we drive a car we are in control of something powerful that, if we lose concentration or clear vision for a minute, can cause serious injury, even death.
Tiffany Chapman, Louis Emerick and Diane Burke, who all appeared in Brookside, pictured in 1997
Grant also appeared on Casualty (pictured), Coronation Street and Last of the Summer Wine
‘It’s clear Mr Grant did not mean to injure these girls, but the events of that day are a lesson that, when we are at the wheel of a car, care and attention are needed at all times.
‘When we don’t drive carefully or considerately we are breaking the law and this case is an example of how serious the results of that can be.
‘The Crown Prosecution Service would like to thank the girls and their families for their help in bringing this prosecution.’
Grant played Mick Johnson, a taxi driver, in Brookside from 1989 to 2001.
After Brookside, he appeared in multiple popular soaps including Casualty from 2013-2016, Last of the Summer wine and Coronation Street, where he played Mike Thornberry in 2018.
Most recently he appeared in Netflix’s mini-series Cleopatra, released this year.
He also starred as the Vice-President in Kung Fury 2, which is set to hit screens later this year, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Fassbender.
Earlier this year Grant appeared on Lorraine, where he and fellow Brookside castmate said the soap had often predicted the future.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
