A 30-year-old woman has been convicted of causing the death of a pensioner by dangerous driving after hitting him and “just driving off”.

Naomi North had previously admitted driving carelessly after her Ford Fiesta fatally struck Bill Roache.

The 72-year-old grandad was killed while crossing New Road, Chatham in August 2020.

North, of Church Road, Swanscombe, failed to stop at the scene after hitting him and it was her sister who contacted police a day later.

She had denied her driving was dangerous but a jury at Maidstone Crown Court failed to agree with her and today (February 8) convicted her on the more serious charge.

Prosecutor Christiaan Moll told the court how at 10.52pm on August 10, 2020, North was driving her car along the 30mph dual carriageway heading from Chatham to Rochester.

"Mr Roache was knocked down as he was using the pedestrian crossing,” he said. “He already crossed the north carriageway and was crossing the south carriageway when he was hit by the Fiesta."

After being thrown into the air by the collision and smashing the windscreen, the Fiesta failed to stop.

The accident was caught on CCTV and shown to the jury which showed the Ford Fiesta had been travelling on average between 29 to 33mph.

Mr Moll had told the jury: "The question as to why Ms North did not stop is one of the most important questions you will have to consider."

A witness had earlier told the jury how he saw the crash as he sat in his flat.

He said he had been "scrolling through Facebook" and looking out of his front window when he saw a gentleman, who he identified as Mr Roache, walking towards Chatham early “using sticks”.

He told the court. “I saw him again walking Gillingham-bound. I saw him cross the road to the central reservation.

“I looked up and saw him using the crossing. I saw a car about 10ft away and thought to myself he's going to get hit.

"To put it bluntly I saw him fly into the air and land on the ground.”

"The car just drove off after swerving...it wobbled and then carried on straight. It was a Ford hatchback.”

It was the following day on August 11, police received a call from North's sister and the driver was later interviewed by officers.

North told police that she had visited her two sisters in Strood and Gravesend.

The prosecutor told the jury the driver said she had left the Leysdown area on the Isle of Sheppey at 10.15pm and "just didn't see" Mr Roache.

"She panicked and just drove off, spending the night in a park near her home,” he said.

Mr Moll said North claims to have lost her mobile phone before walking nine miles to her sister's home in Gravesend.

She claimed she had been listening to Smooth Radio and then remembered her windscreen smashing before looking into her rearview mirror and seeing someone lying on the floor.

He was a wonderful dad, grandad and friend to many

After the verdict at Maidstone Crown Court, a spokesperson for Mr Roache's family said: "Bill will never get the opportunity to meet his new grandchild due in July. We all miss him very much.

"This trial is the culmination of waiting three years for justice. Listening to the evidence and repeatedly watching the CCTV footage was difficult and upsetting and brought all the emotions back to the surface.

"Bill was a gregarious Arsenal fan. He was a wonderful dad, grandad and friend to many."

Judge Oliver Saxby KC remanded North on bail and ordered probation reports for a sentencing hearing to take place on March 21.

North has been given an interim driving ban.

At the time of the incident, police confirmed they had seized a car in Cordelia Crescent, Borstal, near Rochester, in connection with the investigation.

Officers had been seen entering a property in nearby Cambria Avenue.