As Melanie Wedgwood?s lawyer, Saul Froomkin, gave his closing arguments in Magistrates? Court yesterday, the defendant sat with her head bowed and cried quietly in the dock.

Wedgwood, 43, is being charged with driving without due care and attention after striking six-year-old Tyaisha Cox on a pedestrian crossing on St. Mary?s Road in Warwick in August, 2003.

The sometimes emotional and tense three-day trial came to an end yesterday with closing arguments from both the Crown and Mr. Froomkin, who told the court that August 7, 2003 was a tragic day which neither the family of Tyaisha, nor his client would ever forget.

Holding up a Police photograph of the scene with the bus blocking the left hand lane of St. Mary?s Road at the bus stop, Mr. Froomkin said this was what his client was faced with on that day.

On the morning of August 7, 2003, the bus had stopped at this bus stop on St. Mary?s Road across from Purvis Primary School, literally inches from the pedestrian crossing.

Tyaisha and her brother were half way over the pedestrian crossing, the half which was blocked by the bus, when she was struck by Wedgwood?s jeep.

Wedgwood had passed the bus and in statements read to the court earlier this week, had stated that she never saw Tyaisha, who ?came out of nowhere?.

Referring to the Crown witness Sgt. Philip Lewis, who gave evidence in court on Wednesday, Mr. Froomkin said even Sgt. Lewis had said that Wedgwood had done ?what the average driver would have done under similar circumstances.?

Sgt. Lewis had found ?no evidence of dangerous driving or recklessness on the part of the driver?.

Mr. Froomkin said yesterday that evidence from Sgt. Lewis was reliable, unbiased and given by an expert and said that if Tyaisha had not been on the crosswalk that day when Wedgwood passed the bus, would she still have been charged with driving without due care and attention.

Mr. Froomkin said it was ?an unfortunate accident? and that the Crown had failed to prove that Wedgwood had been driving without due care and attention.

In his closing arguments yesterday morning, Crown counsel Juan Wolffe argued that ?you never overtake on a pedestrian crossing? and that if Wedgwood had approached the pedestrian crossing with due care and attention, she would have ?inched her way passed the bus? and seen Tyaisha and her brother crossing and had time to stop.

Mr. Wolffe said that when Wedgwood entered St. Mary?s Road that morning and saw the bus which had stopped, she had already made up her mind that she was going to overtake it.

He backed this up by adding that Wedgwood had entered the west-bound lane at least two car lengths behind the bus to overtake it and had, according to witnesses in the trial, sped up as she had gone by.

Because Mr. Froomkin will be caught up in another matter in Supreme Court for the next two weeks, Magistrate Edward King will only pass judgment in this case on April 1.

Wedgwood?s work permit has apparently expired since the trial began. She has been a resident in Bermuda for about 16 years and works as a hairdresser.