An accident investigations and reconstruction expert testified it was impossible for a bus driver to see a woman in a “blind spot” when she was struck by the vehicle at a junction in Hamilton two years ago.

Phillip Lewis also said, based on his investigation, the driver “did his best” to mitigate the blind spot, which he deemed a “legitimate obstruction”, Magistrates’ Court heard.

Luvaughn Harris, the bus driver, from Southampton, has denied causing grievous bodily harm by driving without care and attention.

The woman, Joann Troccoli, a tourist who had arrived in Bermuda on a cruise ship on the morning of October 30, 2024, was on her way back to into the city after a visit to the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club when she was struck by the bus shortly after 10.30am at the junction of Front Street and Bermudiana Road.

Mr Lewis told the court that he was contacted by AllShores to investigate the incident.

He relied on a summary complied by the Bermuda Police Service as well as a report from the Department of Public Transportation.

Mr Lewis’s investigation included taking measurements and reconstructing scenarios at the scene.

He disagreed when Linton Robinson, for the Crown, suggested that he only relied on the defendant’s version of the incident to aid his investigation.

He told the court that when a police officer files an accident report, requisite information on the circumstances go into a computer system.

The officer can only obtain an overview after speaking to all parties, including the victim.

Mr Robinson told the witness that he failed to do his due diligence, but he responded: “And I totally reject it.”

The court heard that Mr Lewis’s report mentioned a 43ft distance between the centre line of Front Street and the pedestrian crossing on Bermudiana Road, deemed “critical to the investigation”.

Mr Lewis told the court: “It’s a very sharp turn, which makes the junction very dangerous for a bus.”

He said there was “nothing a driver could do” if someone was in the blind spot once the bus moved to take the turn.

He described reconstructing the scene, placing himself in the bus driver’s seat as well as on the crossing.

Earlier, the court heard that Mr Harris, a qualified operator for 14 months at the time of the collision, was operating a No 7 service from Barnes Corner to Hamilton that morning.

Mr Harris described the traffic as he approached Albuoy’s Point.

He said: “I stopped at the Par-la-Ville lights; I had to wait because the light was red.

“After maybe a minute, the light went green. I approached the stop light at Bermudiana Road. I had to wait, there was traffic coming from the opposite direction.

“I saw an opening in the traffic: normally when there’s an opening I check my mirror and I check for pedestrians, and then I proceed to turn.”

Bruce Swan, Mr Harris’s lawyer, asked if he noticed anyone waiting at the crossing or already on the roadway. He answered: “No.”

Mr Harris said he started to turn when he heard “a bump and a scream” and saw a woman lying on the road after using the brakes.

Yesterday, Mr Lewis said he was not aware of another report in which mention was made of the woman’s feet being found between the right side front and rear wheels of the bus as well flesh being found on the vehicle’s front off side.

Under cross-examination, Mr Lewis said had he been privy to such information, “it could have materially changed my opinion”.

He said it would have depended on where the woman’s feet were found at the time of the collision.

Senior magistrate Maxanne Anderson adjourned the case to December 23 and extended Mr Harris’s bail until that time.

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