Khan banned for careless driving

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Boxer Amir Khan has been convicted of careless driving after he went through a red light and injured a pedestrian.

The Commonwealth lightweight champion was driving his BMW convertible in Bradshawgate, Bolton, when he struck Geoffrey Hatton on a pelican crossing.

Mr Hatton, 55, suffered a broken leg in the incident on 2 March.

At Bolton Crown Court Khan was cleared of dangerous driving, but found guilty of careless driving. He was given a six-month driving ban and fined £1,000.

Judge Steven Everitt said: "You drove too fast. You put yourself in a position where you could not stop and as a result you went through a red light, and inevitably this collision occurred.

Mr Hatton suffered a broken leg in the collision on 2 March 2006

"It may be said Mr Hatton went in front of the car but his injury was of your making.

"The message should go out to you and to other young men and young women: if you drive like this, your licence should be taken from you, albeit for a short period."

The court heard Khan's high-performance BMW 6 series car reached 47mph as he overtook vehicles in the wrong lane just before traffic lights.

He said he was not aware of three pedestrians crossing the road when he went through the lights.

Mr Hatton said he had thought it was safe to cross the road and that he had not been aware of any oncoming traffic.

But the foundry worker said he "panicked" in the middle of the crossing and ran back towards the kerb for safety.

Instead he went into the path of the oncoming car.

Khan, of Lostock, said: "I always said I did not drive dangerously and it proved today I didn't.

"I always said I was careless the way I drove and I'm sorry over what happened."

Khan said he saw the lights on amber a few seconds before the stop line but it was not safe to emergency brake as he thought he would end up in the middle of the junction and pose a danger to other motorists.