An elderly tourist who was seriously injured when she was struck by a bus in Hamilton in October 2024 told Magistrates’ Court that she looked “both ways” before crossing the road and “never saw” the oncoming vehicle.

Joann Troccoli, who had arrived in Bermuda on a cruise ship on the morning of October 30, appeared yesterday via video link from New York to give evidence.

Luvaughn Harris, 47, of Southampton, has denied causing Ms Troccoli grievous bodily harm by driving a bus without care and attention at the junction of Front Street and Bermudiana Road.

The court heard how Ms Troccoli, who was 77 at the time of the incident, had been supposed to go on a tour but it got cancelled.

She elected to take the ferry into Hamilton to walk to the Hamilton Princess, because she had visited the hotel “many years ago”.

It was on her walk back from the hotel, towards Front Street, when the incident happened.

“I started walking back to the shops. It was a beautiful clear day, it was gorgeous out,” Ms Troccoli said.

“I crossed a street, and I was looking straight ahead, and the last thing I know was I got hit by something and I blacked out.”

The court was shown footage of the bus making a right turn from Front Street on to Bermudiana Road and striking Ms Troccoli.

She said: “I was walking straight ahead. There was no traffic.

“I walked straight ahead, I was looking straight ahead. I never saw the bus at all. I looked both ways.

“I think I was almost at the sidewalk on the other side.”

The court had previously heard from a witness who was on the bus when Ms Troccoli was injured.

The witness said that the driver only moved forward when the traffic light at the junction turned green, but the right corner of the bus struck Ms Troccoli as she was crossing the street.

He added that Ms Troccoli’s legs were pinned underneath the vehicle after the incident, but she was conscious.

Recalling the aftermath of the event, Ms Troccoli said: “I woke up and some lady was standing over me. I was a little incoherent, and then the police and the ambulance came.

“I don’t know how long I was there. I have no recollection.”

She added: “I don’t know what happened. I was crossing the street, and the next thing I know I’m on the floor, with my head bleeding and in excruciating pain.”

Ms Troccoli told the court how she broke her ankle and had skin missing on her right leg, from her foot to her thigh.

She said she received four operations and three skin grafts and that her leg will “never be the same”.

Asked if she was able to ascertain if there was a pedestrian light at the time she crossed the road, Ms Trocolli said she could not remember but added: “I’m from New York, you know how crazy the cars are — I knew it was okay to cross because I didn’t see any cars.”

She also said she did not hear a horn or the sound of screeching brakes.

When questioned further by Bruce Swan, Mr Harris’s lawyer, she added: “I didn’t see the bus. I saw cars going the other way but I didn’t see the bus.”

Tanya Rose-Ann Trott, a senior operator and driver trainer at the Department of Public Transportation, was then called to take to the witness box as an expert.

The bus operator of 19 years was asked if there was anything in the bus that could have obstructed the driver’s view.

Ms Trott explained how drivers have a blind spot where the front and side meet, as well as a monitor and rearview mirror.

She added that drivers were instructed to lookout for jaywalkers when navigating the roads.

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

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