The prosecution said that Mr Medic was driving on the wrong side of the road
A coach driver on a school trip from Croatia has been found guilty of causing a crash in Berkshire in which 20 children were injured.
Zdravko Medic, 43, from Croatia, was driving 37 children when he crashed into a lorry on the A417 Wantage Road in July last year.
The court heard it was the first time he had driven in the UK.
He was found guilty of driving without due care and attention and given a 12-month conditional discharge.
The costs of £620 were waived as the defence told Reading Magistrates' Court the wages and living conditions in Croatia were poor.
'Inhaling glass'
The two vehicles were passing each other on the brow of a hill when their wing mirrors collided.
The court heard Medic was driving erratically and on the wrong side of the road before the collision.
James Stuart, who driving behind the coach in his car, said the lorry had to swerve up a bank to avoid it, tipped and took out two thirds of the windows at the back of the coach.
Thirty-seven children were on board with 20 suffering injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to the effects of inhaling glass.
The prosecution said it was the first time Medic, who flew to England for the trial, had driven in the UK with a left hand sided vehicle and on the left hand side of the road.
But Peter Goch, defending, said police did not carry out a proper investigation as they only spoke to English speakers at the scene and said the lorry driver was to blame.
He was due to give evidence but was absent from court as he said he had a toothache, Mr Goch added.
Delivering a guilty verdict, the magistrate said Medic "could have pulled further over to the left and could have stopped".
She said she would not make a comment about the actions of the lorry driver.
- Published13 July 2011
