Widow's fury as bus driver who killed pedestrian is cleared by jury

The family of a man run over and killed by a bus as he walked along the pavement told of their anger today after the driver walked free.

Father-of-four Ibrahim Tejan, 50, of Camberwell, was talking on his mobile phone when he was struck by the double-decker in central London and died 16 days later in hospital from severe head injuries.

The driver of the 141 bus, Luigi Albertelli, was cleared of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving after a week-long trial at the Old Bailey.

The 49-year-old from Tottenham, who passed his bus driving test in 2009, claimed he was checking his rear view mirror and took his eye off the road in Moorgate for "a split second".

But Nicola Merrick, prosecuting, told the court a collision investigator's report concluded that Mr Albertelli's bus was overhanging the pavement and that he would have been able to see Mr Tejan, a security guard, for "a minimum" of five seconds before the impact last August.

Mr Tejan's family today spoke of their distress at the verdict. Memunatu Tejan-Jalloh, his wife of 35 years, said: "Justice has not been done and I will not stop until it is. I have to pursue this matter further."

The healthcare assistant added: "The driver is aware of what he has done, he concluded he was at fault by admitting to not looking, so why has he walked free when my husband has lost his life? What about my children who are left without a father? I feel that nobody cares about what we are going through. I've had so many sleepless nights and I keep asking myself the same question, 'why has this happened to us'?"

Mr Tejan's 31-year-old daughter Khadijatu Jalloh, a supermarket worker, said: "We are so upset. I can't believe the verdict, we are all in shock.

"It's so unfair. All they spoke about during the trial was the driver. About how he had been driving for 30 years, that he had no previous convictions, and how it was an accident, but what about my father?"