A driver who hit a nine-year-old girl on a crosswalk three years ago was yesterday fined $450 for driving without due care and attention.

Andrew Jensen, 27, of Warwick, yesterday pleaded guilty in Magistrates? Court to hitting Raynee Tweed while driving on Palmetto Road in May 2001.

Raynee, who ended up with a cut to her right eyebrow and had to have stitches, was on the crosswalk with her sister Rayneisha, then ten, when the accident occurred.

Jensen told the court his view was impaired by a car that was parked partly on the sidewalk, but denied prosecution claims he was using a cell phone.

Jensen told Magistrate Edward King he slammed on his brakes when he noticed cars coming in the opposite direction stopping.

?You take extra care and ease forward to see if a little child is going to cross in front of your vehicle,? Mr. King told Jensen before handing down the fine.

?I slowed down as I approached,? Jensen said. ?And I saw the oncoming traffic stop, that?s when I slammed on the brakes.?

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?You weren?t able to stop in time so you weren?t travelling so slowly,? Mr. King replied.

?I wasn?t too happy with the court case,? Raynee?s mother. Kimberley Tweed, told . ?I was just wondering if he was dealt with for not showing up in court four years ago.?

She said that Jensen should have been penalised for not showing up for an earlier court hearing. Jensen had explained to the court that he missed the court hearing because he had a broken leg and was incapacitated.

?He should have gotten a stiffer penalty. I have transportation, and I take my time,? said Ms Tweed. Jensen had missed Raynee?s older sister, she said. ?That?s a parent?s worst nightmare ? it sure was mine.?

Now 12, Raynee cannot cross the road without holding on to her sister?s hand. ?It was traumatic for both of them, really.?

But Ms Tweed said that she is becoming more independent.

?If you are going to knock someone?s child down on the road, you need to be held fully responsible,? she said.

Ms Tweed said every school zone should have a lollipop person to help children cross the road safely, and such cases should attract stiffer penalties.

Referring to the death of Tyaisha Cox, who was killed on a crosswalk when she was hit by a car allegedly overtaking a parked bus, she said: ?My heart goes out to the Cox family. She (the accused driver) is going to get a $450 fine if she is being charged with just due care.

?I back up the Coxs? petition one hundred percent,? she added, referring to a petition calling for drivers in these cases to be charged with more serious offences.?

The driver of the car which was in collision with Tyaisha, Melanie Jane Wedgewood, of Hillview Road, Warwick, has been charged with driving without due care and attention. The case has not yet been heard.