Finnan was speeding before he hit pedestrian

IRISH international footballer Steve Finnan was speeding moments before his powerful Range Rover collided with an 81-year-old pedestrian who later died from his injuries, an inquest heard yesterday.

Retired merchant seaman Harry Nelson was hit by the Liverpool star’s wing mirror as he crossed a busy dual carriageway near Liverpool city centre at 1.30pm on January 27.

Police Constable Paul Hulme, a specialist crash investigator, told the inquest he estimated the vehicle was doing 58mph in a 30mph zone just before the crash.

He calculated the speed from the length of skid marks left on the road.

Mr Nelson, who lived alone, died five weeks later in hospital from pneumonia brought on by immobility caused by his severe leg fractures and the head injuries he suffered in the collision, the coroner heard.

The footballer, who stopped at the scene and passed a breath test immediately after the collision, expressed his sympathy to Mr Nelson’s family, who were in the coroner’s court.

The coroner heard the Crown Prosecution Service has contacted Mr Finnan to tell him no prosecution will be brought against him.

After the hearing, Mr Nelson’s family issued a statement which said they were “shocked and numbed” by the decision.

Mr Finnan initially declined to answer a question from the dead man’s nephew, Peter, on whether he could have done anything to avoid the accident.

He did say: “My thoughts are with the family of the deceased.

“It has gone through my mind plenty of times, certainly there is nothing I feel I could have done.”

Earlier, taxi driver Steven Maylor told the hearing the footballer overtook his cab which was doing between 32 and 35 miles per hour.

But he said Mr Finnan had swerved to avoid the pensioner, and he felt the player had done all he could to avoid the pedestrian.

In his verdict, Coroner Andre Rebello stated Mr Finnan has not been found guilty of any offence.