A man who is alleged to have struck Sam Kerr‘s 90-year-old grandmother with his ute told the court that he ‘killed the lady, but she revived herself’.
Coral Kerr had been taken to hospital in a critical condition after she had been struck by a ute as she stepped off a bus in Palmyra, Perth on Friday, December 27.
The alleged driver, Mark John Britt, 63, was been charged with one count of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm after it is alleged that he had mounted the kerb in an attempt to overtake the bus before crashing into Ms Kerr.
He appeared in the Fremantle Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he represented himself.
It comes as Sam Kerr is currently on trial for a charge of racially aggravated harassment at Kingston Crown Court in London.
Reports from The Daily Telegraph state that Mr Britt had intended to pleaded not guilty to the charge before proceeding to speak on his diabetic condition.
Sam Kerr’s grandmother Coral Kerr (right) was left in a critical condition in hospital after she was struck by a ute in December
The ute allegedly drove on the footpath in an attempt to overtake the bus where it hit a power pole before it hit Ms Kerr
Despite that, Magistrate Thomas Hall told the man to seek legal advice.
Recounting the incident, Mr Britt gave his version of events: ‘Well, what happened three days before the incident I locked myself out of the house and didn’t have diabetic medication, my diabetes was 307,” he told the Magistrate
‘I swerved around, I swerved around.
‘I killed the lady, but she revived herself.’
Pictures showed the ute had sustained extensive damage to its bonnet.
It is understood that the vehicle had struck a power cable before making contact with Ms Kerr.
Coral’s neighbours and bystanders had rushed to her side after witnessing the crash.
Mr Britt said to the court that a blood test had been taken from him after the incident and that he had been held for three days in police custody, claiming that officials had thought Ms Kerr was going to die.
The Chelsea forward took to social media to thank her followers for their support following the incident
It comes as Sam Kerr yesterday appeared in court over an incident that took place in January 2024
‘But she didn’t die,’ he said.
‘They played that song killer on the road, but I am not a killer on the road.’
According to NewsWire, Mr Britt told members of the media outside of court that ‘it was a miracle Ms Kerr did not die’.
Prosecutors have adjourned as they are waiting for the accused’s toxicology reports.
‘This is a very serious matter,’ the police prosecutor told members of the media.
After the crash, one neighbour recounted the moment she attended Ms Kerr on the pavement.
‘She really wasn’t responding too much, she was very sweaty and clammy… I think she was in shock obviously,’ neighbour Mary Ivey told 9News.
The Chelsea striker, 31, and her fiancée and West Ham star Kristie Mewis were attending the wedding of Matildas team-mate Emily Van Egmond and Kat Thompson in New South Wales when the incident took place.
They had returned to Perth alongside Ms Kerr’s father, who had also been at the ceremony and rushed to hospital to support their grandmother.
Earlier this week, Roger, who has travelled to the UK alongside Ms Kerr’s mother, to support the Chelsea star through her trial, opened up on the injuries his mother, Coral, suffered.
‘For 90 she’s going pretty well. She’s had both her hips done, her pelvis done, a rod in her knee, two broken ankles . . . she’s come through all of it,’ Mr Kerr told the West Australian.
‘She has never been under anaesthetic in her life [before now].
‘She’s a real strong lady, naturally, she’s a bit upset because she can’t move around and it’s going to take her a long time to move, but she’s in good health and good spirits, that’s the main thing.’
The Matildas star appeared in court on Monday over the charges, with the court being shown a video clip of the striker shouting at a police officer following an incident that took place in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
Kerr and her fiancee Kristie Mewis announced last year that they were expecting a baby
The Chelsea striker has not played since January after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury but is expected to be back in the next few months
The court was told on Monday that Kerr and her fiancee Mewis had been in the back of a taxi before they had thought they were being kidnapped by the driver who had refused to let them out. The driver had claimed that the pair had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of the pair had vomited in the back of the cab while one had smashed one of the vehicle’s windows.
The driver took the pair to Twickenham police station in southwest London.
The court was then shown footage of Kerr arguing with police inside the station.
She was seen shouting at PC Lovell: ‘You guys are f***ing stupid and white.’
Meanwhile, Mr Britt’s, bail has been extended with the 63-year-old set to return to court on March 4.